My Abnormal Life
by Icaneatpopcorn
Summary: Everybody deserves a normal, typical teenage life in Mount Olympus. But apparently the Fates have different plans for Piper. Meeting bad boy Jason, having weird friends and crazy adventures, Piper is bound to get ready.
1. I'm Guessing My Birthday Will Be A Mess

**PPOV**

"C'mon, Piper! You can do it!"

_I can do it. I can do it._

I raised both my arms and stretched the string as far as it could. I took one last look at my aim—the lamppost—before I closed my eyes and prayed. _Lady Artemis, please help me. Don't embarrass me in front of my siblings. Especially Drew. _With that, I opened my eyes again and took a deep breath and let go of the string all in three seconds. The arrow flew through the open field and passed by the lamppost. I could hear Drew and her evil minions smirk and Lacy and Mitchell sigh.

I couldn't see the arrow anymore so I faced the bowyer, smiled sheepishly and said, "These don't do me well."

I was in the middle of handing the bow without the arrow to the bowyer when I suddenly heard somebody shout across the field.

"Do your girly business elsewhere!" Leo screamed while walking towards me to hand me the arrow. The fire was not there anymore, but then I remembered that Leo could control and produce fire. He was holding it on his other palm. Leo finally handed me the bow and I looked at him.

"I don't think archery is girly. Because if you do, brother dear, I would be more than willing to tell Thalia about this," I said, winking at him.

Leo stiffened and the color of his face drained until it became pale. Leo had a huge admiration for Thalia, a demigod daughter of Zeus and a Hunter of Artemis. The last thing he wanted Thalia to do to him was to have him beaten up and offered to the next monsters they hunt. Poor boy, though. He still can't accept the fact that Thalia can't ever return his feelings.

He shook his head immediately. "Not one word."

"Deal," I said and grinned mentally.

Now, I guess you're wondering why I have to learn to shoot an arrow with a blazing bow to a lamppost. You see, I'm turning sixteen in two days. It's a tradition that I must shoot an arrow and make a torch on my sixteenth birthday. Why you ask? Believe me, I do not know as well. But I'm guessing it's because I'm growing up already. Or some kind of rite of passage to immortality. Yeah, you heard me. _Immortality_. We can be immortals if we have done some amazing fejujube. Like save the world and become a hero and do something outstanding. You get the point.

In some ways, I _have _done something amazing. I did save my neighbor (who was a satyr) from being eaten by a Cyclops last winter. I guess that counts.

Leo turned around and walked away to go build automatons with Nyssa and Jake down by the river. Drew and her evil minions started walking towards me and gave off a sinister laugh.

"How _outstanding_! Our little sister is having her celebration in two days and she can't even hit her aim. _What a pity_," Drew said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'll tell you what a pity is. It's you and your _friends_," I retorted bluntly.

Drew had a furious look on her face. "If there is anything that is more pitiful than me—"

"So you _do _think you are pitiful?" I raised my eyebrows. She was about to say something when I put my hand up and said, "Never mind. I'm wasting time. I've got more important things to do than talk to you."

With that, I walked away with Lacy and Mitchell following right behind me and into the woods—our resting place. When we were younger, we used to call this place Swampy Joe. We called it that because the woods were indeed swampy that it should be considered a swamp. The 'Joe' came from the word that we heard in the human world while visiting. You know, _Sloppy Joe_. Who names their child Sloppy Joe?

I sat immediately on the floor and mud splashed to my clothes. I groaned. Not that I care about my clothes, but I was wearing a white dress (Mom's orders) and that would make me look like I pooped on my pants. I mean, dress.

Lacy and Mitchell sat down beside me. For a minute, it seemed quiet. But then Lacy started to stand up, and jump up and down a million times. I looked at her with a _what-is-it-know?_ look.

"The way you stalled Drew was _uh_-mazing!" she said still jumping up and down.

"Oh that was nothing," I said, closing my eyes and imitating Drew's voice. Lacy and Mitchell laughed until I joined in too. Man, I miss the old days. Not _Drew_ old days, but _us_ old days.

"But then I _am_ worried too," Mitchell said. "I'm worried that you might not be able to aim properly and embarrass yourself in front of _Drew_."

"Don't worry, bro. Same here," I sighed.

I was about to open my mouth to continue what I was saying when suddenly a big wave of water charged towards us, and within a second we were soaking wet. I stood up and so did Lacy and Mitchell. Even though I was drenched in water, I was kinda happy that the mud stains were gone. Now all I had to explain was why I was soaking wet.

"Who goes there?" I asked fiercely, drawing out Katoptris. It's a good thing I brought it with me.

A figure appeared and it started walking towards us. "I come in peace," the figure said, hands raised.

"Cut the crap out," a voice said behind me. I turned around and saw Annabeth covered in water too. She was wearing this graduation toga and holding a scroll on both hands.

"Annabeth!" I exclaimed, overjoyed to see her. It had been a year since I last saw her. She went to the human world to study architecture right after graduating school. She wasn't old, don't get me wrong. She was just pretty darn smart. Who graduates at fifteen?

I ran up to hug her but then I hesitated because we were both wet. Annabeth smiled and just said, "Later."

I looked back at the figure and I saw a good-looking boy of sixteen with black hair and green eyes. There was this smug look all over his face that I suddenly remembered this imbecile. It was Percy.

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth nodded at Percy. I didn't get it. Annabeth and Percy had been dating since…I dunno, last year?

Percy ran immediately to Annabeth like some weird psycho. Seriously Percy? Seriously?

Annabeth stopped him with her hand on his chest. "We'll do that later. I have something urgent to do."

I looked at her. "What could be more important than Percy, Annabeth?"

"Your mother," she continued. I froze. Mom? "_Mom?" _

Annabeth nodded. "She's calling you. Meet her in the abandoned shop in…3 minutes."

I didn't have time to say bye to Lacy, Mitchell, Annabeth, and Percy. I ran immediately out of Swampy Joe and ran past by the open field, river, and whatever I passed by. I got to the city when I bumped into somebody.

"Watch where you're going!" I groaned. I immediately remembered that I was rude. "I mean, I'm sorry."

"'S cool," the guy who I bumped into said. I didn't have time to look at him because if it was Mom, being late is not an option.

I finally reached the old district and I saw the entrance of the abandoned shop. I've been in there a lot of times before. For an abandoned shop, its contents were nothing like _old_.

I entered and I saw Argus. I walked towards the back room when Argus put a hand in front of me to stop me.

"What is your business?"

"I'm Piper. _Lady _Aphrodite's daughter," I said impatiently.

Argus removed his hand and let me come in. As I entered, I saw racks of the latest clothes of Zara, Chanel, and brands I didn't know but I was sure they were expensive. I walked through the shop in what seemed like hours until I saw Mom scanning gowns from Vera Wang. As usual, she was gorgeous. She had long brown wavy hair and eyes that changed color like a kaleidoscope. She was wearing a little make-up but then she was still beautiful. Her skin was perfectly flawless and her body was neither fat nor thin. It kind of made me wonder if I really was her daughter.

"Mom," I finally said.

"Oh, Piper dear! Took you long enough!" Mom said, still looking at the racks.

I rolled my eyes. "You doknow how big this place is, _right?" _

"Mhm," was all Mom said. She moved to a different rack of gowns with the brand Alex Perry. She held up a gown for me to see. It was a peach dress that went way down until it touched the floor. The top of the dress was white with the same peach material designed on top of it. It was really beautiful. There where many cloths overlaying each other and it looked like a dress for graceful people.

"What do you think?" Mom asked. I nodded my head in awe.

"_Anything _looks good on you, Mom," I said.

Mom nodded in agreement. "I guess. But this kind of dress is for younglings and not for _me."_

My mouth was open wide. "Are you kidding me? You're gorgeous!" I said, gesturing my hands all over her.

Mom just sighed and mumbled something like, "She doesn't understand."

"So, Mom. Why did you call for me?" I asked still staring at the beautiful gown.

"Now that you think about it…" she trailed off. "I forgot," she said, smiling.

I was horrified. "Well, if you don't need me, I'll be going now!"

I hugged Mom and ran for the exit. It was a good thing I remembered how to get out otherwise I'd stay here till New Year's. I saw the back door and went out of the abandoned shop. You couldn't believe how relieved I was to get out of that place.

Instinctively, I reached out to check if I had forgotten Katoptris. I felt my dagger and I also felt a thick envelope. I immediately got it out of my pocket and looked at it. I opened the envelope and rolled my eyes.

Now I know why Mom called me. To send out the invitations for my birthday.

I put it back into my dress pocket without looking where I was going until I bumped into someone—again.

"You again?" he said.


	2. So Many Stinkin' Distractions

**PPOV**

_Somebody call Heaven. Cause an angel just fell from the sky._

It was like this.

I come running back from the abandoned shop, discover that I have to deliver my invitations for my birthday, and then I bump into this. Can my life get any better?

This boy…this _hunk _had close-cropped blond hair. As if life made everything easier, he had this cute little scar just on his upper lip. He had blue eyes—_gorgeous blue eyes—_that showed a lot of mischief and trouble. But I just found it cute. Those eyes. Those beautiful, gorgeous—_get a grip girl!_

The boy cleared his throat. _His voice is so dreamy…No, Piper! Do not submit yourself to the dark side!_

I snapped back into reality. "What do you mean? Have we met before?" I asked, my eyes narrowing.

"No, I didn't mean it that way," he said.

"So?" I prompted. I have never, in my life, been this impatient before. I hoped he wasn't the handsome but stupid type. I wonder what Annabeth would think of this?

"It's just that…I bumped into you awhile ago…" he trailed off. He seemed sidetracked.

A smirk formed his lips. "I'm Jason." Talk about mood swings.

He held out his hand for me to shake, but I thought the better of it.

"Piper," I said, ignoring his hand. He seemed a bit angry at first, but then he put his hand down. You see, when I embarrass myself or other people, I make a note to myself saying, _It's okay. As if you'll ever see him again. _And that cools me off.

He crossed his arms with a really annoying look on his face, as if he were planning my funeral. I would be scared, naturally. But if somebody _this _handsome plans it, I wouldn't mind.

"Nice name," he finally said. "Though I don't think it suits such a beautiful lady."

Under any circumstances, this would've been the happiest moment of my life. Handsome boy praises a girl like me. I put that thought away and instead I twitched. My name does not suite _me? _I thought it was nice. My name is unique! Those who defy my awesomeness must feel the wrath of Piper.

I snarled. "I don't think 'Jason' suits such a rude boy. In fact it would be better if you're name was Stinko." It was a last minute decision.

Jason blinked. "And here I thought you were sweet and innocent and all full of love."

"Then that would make me stupid and danger-prone," I said.

"You have already put yourself in danger, girly-girl." Girly-girl? Oh no he _di-int_.

"Well, I am dangerous, thank you," I said. "But I know a friend who is a Hunter and I can tell her to beat you up."

Jason scoffed. "Really? It just happens that I have a sister who is a Hunter and can have you offered as a sacrifice if you mess with her brother. Believe me. It already happened."

I was downright angry at this jerk. Was he _threatening _me? Now's exactly the time I need Drew. Drew could blow off anybody's head within a minute. The problem was, _how _could I convince her to join my squadron?

I put that thought away. "I don't see a reason why it should happen, anyway. And I am _not _afraid of being offered as a sacrifice."

"You do not know whom you are dealing with," he said, suddenly glaring at me.

"No. It's _you_ whom you do not know you are dealing with," I glared back at him.

Suddenly, a strong wind formed right in front of me and smacked me right in the face. I was taken aback. Jason started laughing until tears rolled down his eyes. I was furious at this beast. I felt my face burning, as if I ate a giant Jalapeno. I waited for Jason to stop laughing and compose himself. _This jerk._

"Are you done, now?" I asked in a matter-of-factly tone.

"You…you…you should've seen the look on your face!" he said, trying to breathe, talk, and laugh at the same time.

I couldn't take it anymore. I shouldn't be wasting my time on such a petty and rude boy. I turned around and said, "If you're not done making a fool of yourself, I'll be going now."

And with that I left him making a fool of himself.

I continued walking to give out invitations. But then I was thinking, _why do it, when Uncle Hermes can do it? _So I immediately changed directions and headed out to the Mount Olympus post office.

It wasn't hard to find. The post office was designed as a big Converse shoe with wings on it and the doorbell was the shoelace. I pulled the string and the wings on the Converse shoes started fluttering. A 92 inch plasma TV appeared and on it said,

_WELCOME TO MOUNT OLYMPUS POST OFFICE. PLEASE INSERT YOUR MAIL AND FILL IN SOME FORMS._

I did as it told me to. I inserted the big fat envelope into the mail slot and right in front of me appeared a form. I filled it and inserted it as well. It made a _ding! _sound, which meant that it was already sent.

_How easy is technology? _I fantasized myself.

I hummed a few songs as I walked my way to where Annabeth was. It was quite obvious that I'd find her in the library. I reached its entrance and entered the library. Walking up to the Historical section, I saw Annabeth. I was about to call her name, when I saw her making out with Percy. I backed up immediately and went out of the library. Maybe a visit to the human world may not be so bad.

I rushed back home, changed clothes, and went to the golden gate just in front of Mount Olympus. I entered it and…behold! An elevator! I pressed the G level and waited. The door opened and I went out of the Empire State Building, greeted by a lot of tourists. In the human world, I looked different. My hair was choppy and uneven, I actually liked it. I tried cutting my hair once but then Mom could've sensed it so that's why it kept growing back. Eventually, I gave up. What could I do against a goddess?

I walked through New York City, ate ice cream, played arcades, and other stuff. I got bored so I went back to Mount Olympus. I went to the river (the one near the open field) and watched Leo, Jake, and Nyssa play with the automaton's parts. I got bored (again) so I went to Swampy Joe. I saw a rainbow and had the craziest idea yet. I threw in a drachma and prayed.

_Iris, Goddess of the rainbows, show me Thalia in whatever place they're hunting._

The image flickered for what seemed like minutes until I finally saw a girl with spiky black hair and electrifying blue eyes. There was a silver tiara around her head and she wore a silver snowboarding outfit.

"Piper!" Thalia exclaimed. She seemed to be in the middle of eating dinner because she was holding a barbeque stick.

"Thalia, I've missed you!" I said, reaching my arms towards her image as if hugging her.

"What's up?" she asked, putting her barbeque down.

I smiled then shook my head. "Nothing. I just missed you."

"I'm flattered, Piper," she said. "So, what did you do today?"

I suddenly remembered my encounter with Jason. I was about to tell her about it when a thought came to my head. _Save the best for last._

I told Thalia about everything. From the time I practiced archery, to the time I went to the human world. I then told her about my encounter with Jason.

"That boy was definitely rude. Kinda reminds me of somebody," Thalia said disapprovingly.

I was about to reply when I remembered something. "Oh, Thalia, by the way. Did you receive anything today?"

"Hm? What do you mean?" she said, chewing a barbeque.

Suddenly, a white glow appeared in front of Thalia's face, as if on cue. Thalia grabbed it and waited for the glowing to cool down.

Thalia started to smile widely. "An _invitation?"_

"Yup! It's for my birthday, I'm sure you know about that."

"I know. It's just that I'm surprised that your _Mom _made invitations.

We laughed and finally, we stopped.

"Back to your story, about the jerk," she said enthusiastically.

I lit up at that. "Oh, yeah." Thalia waited.

"I even told him I had a friend who was a Hunter who could beat him up," I said.

She grinned. "Well, what did he say next?"

I tried to remember what he said. "He said he had a sister that could beat _me _up and offer me as a sacrifice. He said I had to believe it because it happened once." I just shrugged.

I looked at Thalia and I noticed that she had a wild look on her face. I became worried. Had Jason pick on Thalia?

"Thals, what's wrong?" I asked. Thalia shook her head.

"Tell me, Piper, what this boy's name is."

"Oh. His name is—"

The image of Thalia flickered. I cursed under my breath while I searched for another drachma. The image kept flickering until the Iris message disappeared. I groaned. Great. I had no more drachmas. I stood up to go home and eat dinner at the pavilion when I heard the trees rustling.

I drew Katoptris. "Who's there?"


	3. I Have A Date With The God Of Love

**PPOV**

The trees rustled and I became perfectly aware that I was being watched the whole time. I pointed Katoptris towards the noise. Quietly, I moved forward and then suddenly I was hit hard on my face, my body, everywhere. I was pinned on the floor and strong hands were holding mine. I was shaking and I looked up to see the one who hit _me._

"Eros?" I gasped.

Eros's eyes grew wide. "Piper?"

Eros let go of me and immediately stood up. He held his hand out and helped me get up. I dusted off the dirt that went to my face. Eros kept staring at me, and I had to admit that he was _very _handsome (but I still think that Jason's better. Don't you dare tell anyone!) He had dark hair, fair skin, and rosy cheeks. He was of medium height, but taller than me. He was wearing a white tunic with a bag slung over his shoulders.

Eros blushed. "Sorry 'bout that."

"It's okay," I said. Then I narrowed my eyes. "What were you doing behind the trees?"

"Oh! T-th-_that?" _he stammered. "I was on my way to go to you—Mom's orders—but then I got sidetracked."

"Sidetracked?" I raised my eyebrows.

Eros blushed again and scratched his head. "I saw a _really _beautiful girl talking through an Iris message. Boy, I didn't expect it was _you."_

That made me blush. I shifted my foot awkwardly and cleared my throat.

"So, what did Mom say?" I asked, changing the topic.

"Ah! She told me I should help you with your archery," he grinned at that.

I curled my lip. "You've got to be kidding me! I can do it perfectly."

Eros raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Would you show me an example?"

I raised my hands in defense. "Never mind. But why _you?"_

"Who could be better than the one who is used to shooting arrows to spread love?"

Dang. He had a point. But Artemis was _way_ better than him.

"Besides," Eros continued. "If it were Aunt Artemis, she would be too busy. Uncle Apollo? He would charge Mom. Me? I'm your brother. Why not?"

"You got that right," I grumbled.

Eros walked out of the woods, turned around to face me, and smiled. "Shall we?"

My stomach grumbled while we were walking towards the open field. I stopped and Eros looked at me.

"What?"

"Can't we eat dinner before we start? I was heading to the pavilion anyway before I bumped into you," I said, giving him the puppy-dog eye.

Eros thought about that for a long time. "No," he finally said, smiling.

I was about to threaten him when he suddenly cut me off.

"If you don't eat, all the more you'd be motivated to practice," he said.

"I don't _have _a bow and arrow," I said, sighing. I hoped he would let me go and say we could start practicing tomorrow. I was _really _hungry. I heard from Grover that they had fresh broccolis and corn. The thought made my stomach feel even worse.

Instead, Eros shrugged. "We'll just borrow from the bowyer, _duh."_

"I say you have a point," I sighed again. It's no use.

We arrived at the bowyer's shop and Eros loaned me a bow and arrow. I frowned when I looked at it. Bows and arrows aren't my thing. I had the ones I borrowed adjusted 13 times, and still nothing fit me well. Then again maybe I wasn't in the mood. I was never really a patient person. So aiming and focusing on an object wasn't helping.

"I want you to hit that scarecrow's hat," Eros pointed, snapping me out of my narration.

I looked at where he was pointing. "You mean Leo, Jake, and Nyssa's _automaton?"_

"Yeah, yeah, whatever it is," he said impatiently.

"No," I said immediately. "They worked hard for that all day. No way am I going to ruin it."

Eros sighed. "Just the _hat, _Piper."

I looked at him for what seemed like five minutes. I was trying to figure out what he was playing at.

"Fine," I finally said. "But you'll give up your hat in exchange."

"Got it," he said. It was obvious that he was excited in destroying the poor scarecrow's hat.

I fixed my posture and inserted the arrow into the bow. I stretched the elastic band by the calculation of how far my target was. 5 kilometers. Got it. I released the band and watched how far the arrow went. The arrow went straight towards the scarecrow. _This could be my lucky day, _I thought. I was getting pretty excited but then I talked too soon. The arrow went to my aim all right. But not the hat. It pierced the automaton's head and chopped it off like the world depended on it. I threw the bow and arrows on the floor.

"I told you not to make the scarecrow my target!" I hissed at Eros. "Now Leo will absolutely kill me!"

Eros just laughed it off. "It's okay, Pipes. You'll do better next time!"

"You _know _that's not what I'm talking about," I said, glaring at him. Eros stopped and tried to look serious. It obviously didn't work.

He sighed. "I'll explain it to Hephaestus."

I crossed my arms and let it go. There was no use in arguing with him. Besides, if it's Hephaestus, he'll definitely be skewered.

Eros started walking away. I picked up the bow and arrow and followed him.

"Hey! Where are you going?" I asked, panting.

"We'll go somewhere…better for your training," he said, still not looking back at me. I thought he was mad at me for getting him into trouble with Hephaestus. But then I saw him smirk from the corner of my eye.

We arrived at the city proper and Eros stopped by at a shop. He bought warm corn on a stick with butter on it and cheese. My stomach grumbled and I glared at him from behind. What is he doing?

Eros then walked towards an alley. He stopped, and then looked around. He left me there standing and yearning for the corn when he arrived with 3 broomsticks and ropes. He tied each corn on a stick to the broomstick with a rope and turned around to look at me. A smirk was plastered on his face.

"The rules are simple," he said. "Just get the corn out of the broomstick's treachery and you can eat it."

"Fair enough," I agreed. "But won't the food get dirty if they fall to the ground?"

Eros smiled as if he was prepared for this question. "I'll catch them when they fall."

I nodded and positioned myself. I started at the one on the left. I let go of the string and prayed. Luckily, it went perfectly. The corn was free and Eros caught it. I continued until the last one fell down. I screamed when I was finished.

"I did it! I finally did it!" I said, still in shock. Eros handed me a corn on a stick and I took it and bit it.

"I know how you did it. You can only do it when you need to protect someone or something."

I raised my eyebrows as if it were a joke. "Protect someone? You mean protect _corn?"_

Eros shrugged. "Hey. They're living beings."

I just shrugged and continued eating my corn. Boy, was I hungry. We went out of the alley and stopped to finish the corn. Suddenly, we heard loud noises from the sky. We looked up and gasped.

"Fireworks?" I asked, mesmerized.

"I don't know why, but it's nice," Eros said.

We watched the fireworks while eating corn. When the fireworks finished, we started heading to the pavilion for the sing-along. We still had time anyway.

We were already near the pavilion when I saw Lacy running towards us.

"Where have you been? Mom needs you!"


	4. Thalia Saves The Day

**PPOV**

"What now?" I asked. It was obvious enough that I was irritated. I mean, its like every time I go somewhere, Mom needs me. Can't she give me a break?

Eros must've read my thoughts because he said, "She just wants to help, Piper."

And when Eros said that, I felt guilty. I _was _overreacting. Now that I think about it, even if Mom is like _this, _at least she doesn't abandon me.

"I don't know _exactly_ what she needs, but all I know is that she needs to talk to you about something important," Lacy said.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"She told me she'd be going to your house," Lacy replied. But from the sound of her voice, it didn't seem like she was sure.

"Okay," I finally said. "I'll be going now. Bye, Eros—thank you by the way—and Lacy."

I waved at them and headed towards my house. I didn't even get to join the sing-along. Well, maybe this was how Drew felt when she turned sixteen. That made me feel better.

I finally reached the front of my house. Not to boast, but it was big. Like mansion (big houses in the human world, right?) big. You see, my father is Tristan. He is the best stage actor in all of Mount Olympus. I didn't really care about being the daughter of the most famous actor. In fact, I found it annoying. Father doesn't have time for me because of his career. But in anyway, I loved him a lot.

I entered and stairs that spiraled until it reached the top greeted me. There was a chandelier hanging from above the centerpiece—a flowerpot on top of a table—and there were pillars around the room that supported the ceiling. The second floor could be seen, so stuck on the wall was a painting of my Dad and me. We were wearing matching clothes, like sailors, except that his was a boy version of my outfit.

I remember that we had this painted right after my school's Halloween party. We were allowed to bring our parents and as far as I could remember, this was the best day of my life. I invited Dad (for the fun of it), and I was surprised that he could go. Since we had a lot of time, Dad had us painted wearing our costumes as a remembrance of the day that we finally had time to go out together.

I stared at it from the first floor when I noticed that someone was also looking at it. It was Mom. I went up the stairs and stood besides her, still looking at the painting.

"How's Tristan?" Mom asked softly.

"Dad? He's doing well. Still sad in some ways…" I trailed off.

Mom sighed. She turned to me. "Piper, dear, you _do _know that I love him. Leaving is the hard part.

"I know," I choked out.

The room became silent. Then I remembered why Mom was here.

"What did you need me for?" I said, breaking the silence.

"Oh! About that…I just wanted to cheer you on," she smiled.

"Huh? Cheer me on for what?" I asked, clearly confused.

I heard a _ding! _sound. I looked around the room when I saw Mom looking at her watch.

Mom sighed again. "I'm sorry if my visit wasn't long, Piper. But it seems that I am needed by my father."

I frowned. "Oh."

I was about to ask her why she was cheering me on before she leaves, but then Mom suddenly disappeared into thin air. My mouth was hanging. _What just happened? _And I guess I could say that this was the first time I have seen something like _that. _I shrugged it off and headed towards my room.

My room wasn't all that. It was circular, with many windows (as requested of me) and on the middle was my king-sized bed. I changed into my pajamas and jumped into the comfy matress. I draped the curtains around my bed, closed my eyes, and said my prayers. Then in a minute, I was drifting off to my dreamless sleep.

~0~

The first thought that came to my mind when I woke up: _Hell day._

I've heard of Hell Week from the human world, but Hell Day in Mount Olympus was _way _worse.

First of all, since my birthday was tomorrow, I had to cram all of my lessons. Archery, Proper Etiquette, Fitting, Planning my party (which consists of the color scheme, order of activities, reservations, guest list, etc.), and Dance lessons. What's worse was that I wasn't allowed to go outside and hangout. The only times I could go out was when I wanted to use the public bathroom, practice archery, and ask my friends for directions just to get to talk to them. Where was I cramming?

My house, of course, because as I said, I wasn't allowed to go outside.

In coordination with Mom, she already decorated the pavilion just for me. Dad hired a teacher to teach me my lessons. And believe me, she was _very _strict. She closed all the curtains in my room (considering that I had a lot of windows) just to avoid distraction. I wanted to literally shave her head off, but I decided not to.

This is what happened when we were doing archery:

"Stop closing your eyes. And you keep wondering why you can't hit properly," Madam Fitwitz said.

"Yes, ma'am," I said.

Proper Etiquette:

"Stop slouching, Proper."

"Its 'Piper', ma'am."

Fitting:

"Madam…Fitwitz…stop…pulling…the string!" I gritted my teeth.

"You should stop eating if you don't want me to tighten this corset."

There is not one sentence where she did not use the word 'stop'.

When we were planning the party, Madam Fitwitz kept convincing me to get the pink color scheme. And I kept on replying to her, "Madam Fitwitz, I believe it is _my _birthday we're planning here, not yours."

So in the end, I chose the yellow one.

Madam Fitwitz left my room and I immediately stood up. I carried some snacks and put them in my knapsack. I went out of the house and ran towards the open field. It was 6 pm and I saw Leo, Lacy, Mitchell, Percy, and Annabeth. Apparently, they were playing Monopoly. I walked towards them and dropped my bag.

"Hey, guys," I said, panting.

Leo, who was lying down on the grass covering his face, faced me. "Took you long enough!"

I sat down to join them. "My tutor doesn't even _know _I left the house."

"Tutor?" Annabeth perked up. "Why didn't you let _me _be your tutor?"

"And what?" I asked. "Waste your time with me all day _without _seeing Percy?"

Annabeth and Percy blushed. Percy moved awkwardly and Annabeth bent her head down.

"Whatever," I heard Annabeth mutter.

They continued playing Monopoly while I ate a few of my snacks that I brought with me.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Lacy and Mitchell with a horrified look on their faces.

I turned my head to where they were looking at and I saw Madam Fitwitz marching towards us. I stood up and picked up my knapsack. I looked at my friends and said, "See you guys later," and walked to Madam Fitwitz. I reached her and put my hand up to stop her.

"Wait…wait…" I said, obviously tired. "I'm coming now. I'm coming now!"

Madam Fitwitz just looked at me. "This is definitely something I have to report to your father."

I stiffened. "Holy cow. Please don't. I said I'm coming now, didn't I?"

"Very well then. As you wish."

We walked until we reached my house. Once we entered, we continued on with our lessons. We finished our last lesson and I stood up and yawned. Madam Fitwitz stood up as well, said good-bye, and left. I picked up my things and decided to go outside. When I opened the door, it was already nighttime. I wasn't aware of the time. Probably because Fitwitz closed the curtains. Time flies when you're having _fun_.

I went back upstairs to my room and took a bath. Once I was done, I headed towards my bed and lay down to sleep.

It must have took me a minute to fall asleep, but somebody jumped on me and I sat up, startled.

"It's 12 am, Piper," Lacy said. Then I noticed she wasn't the only one in my room. I saw Dad, Annabeth, Percy, Mitchell, Leo, Travis, and Connor (took them long enough to finally show up!) in my room. I looked at them incredulously.

"Happy Birthday!" they all said together.

~0~

I woke up, my head _really _dizzy from a while ago. What happened? Well, I kicked them out after I said my thank you.

I stood up from my bed and took a bubble bath to relieve my dizziness. After that, I changed into a white, frilly, cocktail dress (Mom said she'd check on me) but I wore cycling shorts under. I combed my hair and wore a white headband. I looked at myself in the mirror. _Yuck_. I went downstairs and ate cereals. I was about to leave when I saw something on top of the dinner table. It was a birthday card. I smiled at it and brought it with me to read later. I got my brown leather backpack and left my house.

As I was walking, a few minor gods strolling around and some other people greeted me. I didn't miss out one single thing. Every time they see me and greet me a happy birthday, I noticed that they were all shocked to see me. Well, I couldn't blame them. I _never _wore a dress. Only when Mom says to, I'm _that _obedient. Believe me, you don't know her when I don't follow her.

I reached the open field and noticed that the gang wasn't there. I went to the river and I saw them. I walked up to them and they all looked up when they saw me. Their mouths were _literally _hanging. I just stared at them and sat down to join them in whatever they were doing.

Leo finally spoke up. "Hey, beauty queen."

"Ha ha," I said, snatching Connor's apple and biting it.

They all gulped and continued on with what they were doing.

Annabeth and Percy were playing Mash; Annabeth insisting on designing Percy's home in the future, Connor and Travis were coming up with some kind of prank for the Demeter kids, Lacy and Mitchell looking at fashion catalogs, and Leo and I were talking about the pros and cons of being a vegetarian.

"Too much vegetables aren't good for the body," Leo pointed out.

"Well, who said vegetarians eat vegetables only? There's fruits and seafood."

We got pretty much bored with what we were talking about, so we just lay down on the grass and played 'I Spy'.

After what seems of hours later, we finally decided to eat lunch. We headed to the open field (since we can't enter the pavilion) and grabbed some brunch. We then formed a line to offer some food to the gods when it was my turn. I took the juiciest fish and tossed it to the fire. _For Aphrodite, _I thought. After that, we sat on a table and started eating. From a distance I could see Drew grinning evilly as if she came up with a plan to destroy me once and for all. It kind of creeped me out.

"Hey, Pipes," Percy said while chewing his roast beef. "What time's your party?"

"5 pm. Goes on 'till midnight," I said, as I took a sip from my Diet Coke.

"You seem rather excited," Travis said.

I scoffed. "Me? Excited? How can you say so?"

"Well," Leo butt in. "You're all dressed up."

"C'mon guys. It's her birthday. Give her a break," Annabeth said.

"Speaking of, where are my gifts?" I asked, smiling.

They all looked at me as if I was joking. I gave them a _what? _look, and they continued eating as if I didn't even ask the question.

We were done eating so we decided to go to the human world. Once we arrived there, Annabeth gave us a tour of her school. It was big, made of bricks and all. There were many brainy kids with gray eyes.

I turned to Annabeth, surprised. "Your siblings?"

"Yup," she said, smiling a little bit.

We were about to head to the movies to watch Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 1 in 3D, when my shoes _literally _sprouted wings. I started flying. Nobody seemed to notice me flying away from the gang.

"Guys!" I managed to say. "A little help here!"

They all looked around but they didn't see me. Was I that far?

"Where's Piper?" Lacy asked, her voice starting to quiver.

Connor and Travis pointed at me. "There she is!"

They were shouting something at me, but I couldn't hear it. I was soaring high until I reached the Empire State Building. I entered until it opened to Mount Olympus. I was still flying and some kids passing by kept calling me a, "Chicken Lady!"

My flying shoes brought me to my house and led me up to my room. Once I entered, I saw Madam Fitwitz and Mom waiting. I landed on my feet, and the wings slowly disappeared.

"Was that _really _necessary?" I grumbled.

Fitwitz gestured me to come near them, and I did. They were standing beside my bed, and I could see a dress—more of a gown—lying down on my bed. It was the peach dress I saw two days ago.

"I'm wearing _this?" _I asked, pointing at the dress. Mom nodded and Fitwitz just looked at me with a disapproving look on her face.

"Well, then," Mom said. "Let's get ready!"

They undressed me and put the corset on me. I could hardly breathe that I just sat down. Mom put on a little make-up, while a few of her helpers (who appeared out of nowhere) fixed my hair. When it was done, I tried on _several _shoes. Eventually, I chose the flats since I hated heels. I wore the dress and I had to admit that they fit me even if I didn't wear the stupid corset. I didn't bother looking at the mirror. It was to prevent myself from vomiting.

I looked at the window and I could guess that it was already quarter to 5. My heart was pounding and I started feeling nervous. Mom smiled at me, which calmed me down a little bit. I heard a few horses come and Fitwitz said that we had to leave now. When I opened the door, I saw a _huge _carriage. I stepped inside and it was even bigger inside. We started heading towards the pavilion. I saw a lot of people heading towards there as well. We finally arrived and I became nervous again. I didn't see the design because they lead me backstage. I stood behind a curtain and somebody tapped my back. I looked and saw my brother, Eros, wearing a tuxedo.

"What are _you _doing here?" I said, shocked.

He looked offended at first but then he smiled. "I'm your escort, of course. Well…just for your Grande Entrance."

My eyes became wide. "_Grande Entrance?"_

"Yeah. Why do you think you're standing behind a curtain?" Eros laughed.

I gulped and butterflies started to roam around my stomach. Suddenly, the pavilion became quiet. I heard somebody clear his or her throat.

"Today, we are celebrating the sixteenth birthday of Piper," the person announced. I heard somebody snicker. _Drew, _I thought and I gritted my teeth. "Let us welcome Lady Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, and goddess of love." I heard trumpets blow and the curtain started to open. The light blinded me at first, but then I was able to see. The pavilion was _packed. _I saw the 12 Olympians, my friends, some minor gods, and people. They started clapping with an awe-struck look. I get it, I get it. It's Piper all dressed up!

The announcer started to say something. "The beautiful Piper is being accompanied by her brother, Eros, the god of love."

We went down the stairs, and my heart started beating. I've never been _this _nervous in my whole life. A song started playing, and Eros held out his hand.

"Will you, the everlasting beautiful Piper, have a dance with me?" he said, bowing down.

I blushed and took his hand. "Sure," I mumbled. We led the first dance until people started to join. After the dance, we started eating dinner. I looked for the gang, but I couldn't see them. Somebody tapped me behind.

"Hey…" Annabeth said, trailing off. Her blond hair was down, curled, and she had some make-up on her. She wore this slightly sparkling gray dress to match her eyes. Beside her did Leo, Connor, Travis, Lacy and Mitchell follow Percy, who was wearing a tuxedo. They all looked like they've seen a ghost.

"What?" I asked.

Leo spoke up. "You look _different…_in a Piper way."

"Huh?" I said. Lacy held up a mirror and I looked at it out of curiosity. There was a girl on the mirror, with chocolate brown hair tied up in a messy but stylized way. There were curls falling down, and on her face was subtle make-up that brought out the different colors of her eyes. Her hair was glossy and it sparkled when it was facing the moonlight. Leo was right. I looked different, yes. But I still had a touch of Piper-ness.

We sat down at a table, and as I was eating, people I did not know greeted me. We talked after we were done eating. They played really nice songs like 'Here Comes The Sun' by the Beatles, and we sang to it. They started playing 'I Could Be the One' and we all stood up and danced _Leo-style, _as Leo puts it. After that, they started playing a slow song. Percy asked Annabeth, Mitchell asked Lacy, Travis asked Katie, Connor asked another girl from the Demeter kids, and Leo was asked out by an Apollo girl. Since I had no date, I just sat down and watched them.

"The birthday girl doesn't seem too happy," a voice said.

I turned around and saw a _very _handsome boy in a tux. But then I remembered who he was.

"_Jason?"_ I asked, my eyes wide. "What are _you_ doing here? I didn't invite you!"

"No, you didn't. But it says on the invitation that you can bring an escort," Jason pointed out.

I waited, figuring out if he was the one I invited or the escort.

"My sister," he continued. "Invited me."

"Oh? And who's this _sister _of yours?" I asked sarcastically.

"Piper?"

I looked and saw a girl with black hair that was tied up in a ponytail. She wore a black dress with punk accessories. There was a silver tiara across her brow. I almost couldn't recognize her if it weren't for the tiara.

"Thalia!" I said, standing up. I ran to her and hugged her. She hugged me back.

"I missed you so much! I thought you would—"

"You know Jason?" she cut me off.

I looked at Jason, who had a shocked expression on his face, then at Thalia.

"Of course. He's the one I've been telling you about in the Iris message."

It became silent, between the three of us.

"Piper," Thalia said, pursing her lips. "Jason is my _brother."_

I looked at her to see if she was joking. But she had a serious expression on her face that I knew she was telling the truth.

They looked nothing alike. Well, except for the fact that they had blue eyes. And their attitudes, no offense.

I was about to say something when the person-in-charge of the mic suddenly spoke up.

"Now is the time for Lady Piper's dance! As you all know, it is a tradition that the celebrant must dance with all the boys in the room. Give it up for Piper!"

They all clapped and somebody pushed me towards the center. A boy came forward and I took his hand. We danced, and I danced with other people like Percy, Leo, Apollo, Mitchell, Poseidon, Zeus, Connor, Travis, some minor gods like Phobos and Deimos (who creeped me out by the way), etc. I danced for hours that I got tired. We got to the last one and I was excited because it was almost done. The last boy came forward and I smiled at him. Can't be helped. I couldn't wait for it to be done. Then I noticed who the last boy was.

It was Jason.

Jason.

_Jason._

"_You?" _I asked outrageously. "But you're not a boy. You're a _demon!"_

Everybody looked at us and Jason glared at me.

"Don't you _dare _embarrass me in front of these people," he muttered.

I took his hand and he went closer to me.

"Don't you _dare _put your hand on my waist," I hissed.

He just shrugged.

"Get your filthy hands away from my waist," I hissed again.

Too late. He put his hand on my waist.

I glared at him, and as we danced, I intentionally stepped on his foot for like 15 times. The first time, he jumped and I laughed. He got used to it eventually.

The song ended and I tried to get him to let go of me. But he didn't. Instead, he went near me and whispered to my ear.

"This is for you stepping on my foot."

He pulled me closer to him and kissed me right in my lips. Everybody gasped and some people were hooting. I pushed him away from me and punched him in the gut.

"_This _is for you stealing my first kiss."

And with that I joined my friends.

It was time for the archery thingo, so I changed into a shorter dress and put on my armor. Hephaestus put on the fire on my arrow and I positioned myself. I raised it and prayed to Artemis even if she was watching me. I let go and watched the blazing arrow soar through the sky and towards my target. It hit it, and it started to make a huge torch. Everybody clapped, and I bowed. Drew came forward.

"She _finally _does it! But the only problem is, it wasn't _you _who delivered your invitations."

Everybody gasped and started murmuring. I looked around in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," Drew said. "It is a tradition that when you turn sixteen, it's supposed to be the celebrant who gives away the invitations _personally. _It's a sign of respect."

Then I knew exactly what she was talking about. _I _didn't give them. It was _Hermes _who did.

I paled. How dare she, Drew, for humiliating me in my own birthday. I am _so_ going to kill her.

Thalia stepped forward. "You may be right, Drew. But she didn't know. I'm sure that Lady Aphrodite assigned somebody to tell her this."

Drew stiffened. Everybody looked at her.

"What Piper did was wrong. And she _will_ make-up for this," Thalia said. "The least she could do is go to Hermes tomorrow, and do some errands for him in will be accompanied by my brother, Jason," she nodded at Jason, "and somebody else can volunteer. Three is the lucky number."

"I will!" a voice interrupted. It was Leo.

I sighed. Oh, Leo.

Thalia nodded. "Very well, then. It is decided."


	5. My Uncle Gives Me Errands

**PPOV**

Life is unfair.

I am going to make sure that Drew will die once I get back from doing Uncle Hermes's errands. And in the first place, I didn't even _invite_ Drew to my party. She ought to be ashamed of herself.

I sat down on the front porch of the post office, waiting for my two companions. I was wearing jeans, my snowboarding jacket over a shirt, and my good ol' combat boots. It's already 10 am, and I _specifically _told them to go here at 8 am. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

I should stop putting the 'ought to be ashamed' phrase at the end of my paragraphs.

My stomach grumbled as I remembered the events that happened last night. Wait, that was wrong. My stomach grumbled as I remembered that I had to skip breakfast all for an errand that I'm sure Uncle Hermes could do. Then again he was always busy running 'round the world delivering useless things. I slumped back and sighed. I didn't even have a good sleep last night. I had a dream, and in that dream I was dreaming of myself dreaming of myself in my dream that I was dreaming of myself being eaten by a gorilla. Ugh. There is definitely something wrong with me today.

I stood up and decided to go home to take a quick breakfast when I saw two figures walking towards me. It was Jason and Leo. Jason looked normal, while Leo, on the other hand, looked like he was half-asleep and half-awake. I waited for them to approach me.

"Finally!" I said, raising my arms. Jason rolled his eyes and Leo jumped, as if I woke him up.

"Thalia and I had to do something," Jason said bluntly. The nerve of him.

I crossed my arms. "Well, you're here. That's what matters."

"STEP AWAY FROM THE TAPIOCA MACHINE!" Leo screamed. Jason and I jumped in surprise and the people walking by kept looking at us.

I glanced at Jason and we both nodded. We held Leo, me on the right, while Jason on the left. We brought him to an empty alley and let go of him.

"One…two…three!"

We slapped Leo.

He yelped and his eyes opened wide. He looked at us waved his arms everywhere. We stifled a laugh and Leo's eyes opened wider.

"What is up with you!" Leo screamed right in front of our faces. We laughed again. He looked at us in disbelief.

I patted his back. "Sorry, Repair Boy. We had to find a way to wake you up."

I went back to the front porch of the post office, with Jason and Leo following me. Jason knocked on the door and the 92-inch plasma TV appeared. The same message appeared as last time, and we grumbled at the sight of it.

"How do we get inside?" Jason asked impatiently.

"Perhaps I can pick the lock on the door…" Leo mumbled, fiddling his tool bag.

I kicked the door and the whole post office started to shake. I gulped and took a step back. The wings on the Converse shoe started fluttering until a person came out of it, flying. We stared at it in awe and waited. The person descended and landed his foot on the front porch. The person looked about nineteen, with short-cropped sandy hair. He looked at us, disgusted.

"What _now?" _he asked. It was obvious that this happened before. You know, somebody kicking on the front door until he comes out.

We stood there, not even bothering in replying. Jason coughed.

"Excuse the lady," Jason looked at his nametag. "Luke. We are here to see Hermes."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Hermes, eh? Why didn't you say so?"

Luke pressed the door for 15 seconds until a holographic image of a box appeared. He typed in something in Ancient Greek. 'Cheese' from what I understood. The door opened and he led us inside.

The post office was even _cooler_ once we got in. There were racks of shoes from different brands like Nike, Adidas, and Vans with different sizes. All of the shoes had buttons on the side that activates the wings. Leo was staring in awe, touching and wearing each shoe. And every time we faced our backs on him, he would fly around the office. There was this big fat tube on the ceiling that comes from the very top floor until the lobby. I guess that's where they pass on the mails. As we were walking, somebody kept playing 'Let Me Take You To Rio' by Ester Dean and Carlinhos Brown all over again. It was a nice song, don't get me wrong. Matches up to the mood of the room.

"Step inside," Luke said, gesturing at a really big roller skate with a five-seat cushioned seat. We sat down, Jason in front with Luke, while Leo and I were at the back. Luke pulled the shoestring until it moved towards a spiral slide that was going down. Once the roller skate touched the slide, it immediately rocketed down to never ending loops and slides. Just like a roller coaster.

Luke looked indifferent while the three of us kept screaming and shouting whoas. We were approaching a clown's mouth. When we entered the tunnel, I realized that we were being ejected from our seats. We were falling into a dark hole until I heard Luke yell, "_Maia!"_

I heard Leo scream it too, and wings sprouted on his shoes. Maybe this dark hole was enchanted. Heck, I didn't even know what was going on. We were still falling, and I kept on wondering what was at the end of it. _Maybe not now, _I thought. Somebody put his hand on my waist and I stopped falling. We were slowly descending down the dark hole and I saw a bright light. We entered it, and landed on our butts. But it was a sofa that protected our butts. In other words, we were sitting down.

I looked at the room. It was normal looking, except that the walls were painted sky blue and there were paper airplanes hanging on the ceiling. The room was big. There were statues of windmills on the corners of the room. There was a voice-controlled vendo machine, and a 1000-inch plasma TV that only covered half of the room. In the center of the room, was a simple office table. There was a nameplate on it that read 'Hermes' in English.

I heard some banging and we all looked at where the sound came from. There was a man that looked like an adult version of Luke. He was wearing a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and rubber shoes. On his right hand was a caduceus; while on his left was a pile of paperwork. Luke immediately ran towards the man and helped him carry the pile of paper. The man stretched his arms and sat down at his chair. We stared at him, wondering if he even noticed that we were here.

As if reading my thoughts, he stood up and looked at us. We stood up as well, and Luke cleared his throat. I looked at him and noticed that everybody was looking at me. I bent my head and saw a hand on my waist. It was Jason's hand. Jason let go of my waist and our faces became red. The man behind the table laughed.

"A couple of young lovebirds," the man mused.

"You're Hermes," I said. "I mean…uncle."

Hermes nodded and gestured his hand on the sofa behind us. "Please, have a seat."

We sat down and Hermes sat down as well. We all stared at each other. I stared at Hermes, then Luke, then Leo, and Jason. When our eyes met (Jason and I), we blushed. Well, I did. Jason blushed at first then he smirked. _That bastard._

"What brings you guys here?" Hermes asked nonchalantly.

Jason spoke up. "We are here to do some errands for you. Well, Piper will." I glared at him.

"I see…quite a show your sister did," Hermes said, nodding again.

"What can we do for you, uncle?" I asked, ignoring what Hermes said about Drew.

Hermes looked at his paperwork. "Let's see. You can steal a golden apple from the garden of the Hesperides."

"_Again?" _Luke asked.

I didn't know what meant, but the errand that uncle told me to do seemed _difficult. _Jason tensed, and Leo just smiled excitedly. What is up with you people?

I gulped. "Um…where _exactly _is the garden of the Hesperides?"

"The human world," Hermes smiled.

Well, that bought me. I like going to the human world. It's very entertaining. They have many tourist spots.

I stood up immediately, and I couldn't help myself from smiling triumphantly.

"What is it now?" Jason asked irritated.

"I guess there's no other choice," I shrugged.

"Actually, you can—"

"The garden of the Hesperides, it is!" I cut him off.

I was about to turn around and go for the exit when Hermes said, "At least let my son, Luke, supply you with a pair of my shoes."

Leo perked up at that. "Really, uncle? _I _can use it?"

Hermes nodded and pointed at another vendo machine I didn't see a while ago. There weren't any drinks or food inside. Instead, there were Nike shoes that had wings on them. Luke went towards it and looked at Leo. Leo immediately went to the vendo machine and picked a style of Nike shoes. Leo chose a white one with black stripes that was a size 7.

"Use it carefully," Hermes said as Leo was already putting on the shoes. "And all you have to say is _Maia _for it to activate."

I nodded. "Got it."

"I guess we'll be on our way now," Jason said, standing up. We said goodbye to Hermes and Luke, and left the office. How you ask? Well, there was this rope hanging above us and as we held it, it pulled us up until we reached the lobby. When we got up, they were still playing 'Let Me Take You To Rio'. We went out of the post office and noticed that we had backpacks filled with nectar and ambrosia. And some normal food like frozen hamburgers and tempura. I frowned.

"It's okay," Leo said. "I'll cook them for you."

I flashed Leo a smile and we walked towards the entrance of the golden gate that will lead us to the human world. I pushed a button and suddenly an elevator popped out. We entered it.

"Guide us, Uncle," I prayed.

And the elevator door closed.


	6. I Challenge Myself To A Duel

**PPOV**

We entered the human world and, alas, came my choppy and uneven hair. I was so glad to have it, that I practically kept twirling my fingers around my hair. Jason kept staring at me. Probably contemplating whether I looked awesome or not. Can't be helped, though. He was jealous.

"Where are we?" Leo asked.

"New York," Jason said.

I nodded. "From Greek Mythology, the garden of the Hesperides was in the west. West meaning—"

"California," Leo said wistfully.

"How do we get to California?" Jason asked.

I thought about it. California is _very _far. It would be possible to go there by bus or taxi, but we didn't have much money. Oh, I made a rhyme! Anyway, even if we rented a car, who in the world would allow under aged kids to drive? Then I remembered something. It was related to money. Not the stupid rhyme.

"Do you have a drachma?" I asked, looking at Jason and Leo. Jason put his hand on his pocket while Leo at his tool bag. Might as well check myself. I reached into my pocket and tried to look for a drachma. Sadly, I didn't have.

I sighed. Suddenly, Jason tossed me something. I caught it mid-air and looked at it. It was a drachma.

"Found one," he declared.

"Thanks," I muttered.

I faced the road and chanted in Ancient Greek. I tossed the drachma into the floor and it sank until it disappeared. I waited. And waited. And waited. Then, just where the coin had fallen, the asphalt darkened. It melted until it became a rectangular pool. It was bubbling until it finally became a car. It wasn't more of a car, though. It was like it was woven out of smoke. Like you can walk right through it. A head popped out off the window. It was an old woman with her grizzly mopped hair covering her eyes.

"Passage?" the old woman said. Its voice was raspy and creepy at the same time.

"Three to California," I said. I showed the old woman the drachma and the car door opened. We entered the cab and it looked smoky as well. Leo entered first, followed by me, then Jason. Once we closed the door, the cab accelerated. We hit our heads at the back of the seat. The cab kept on stopping and going. I held Leo and Jason's shoulders for support. Well, to avoid myself from vomiting.

"Give me my eye, Tempest!" I heard the old woman say.

_Give me my eye? _I don't even want to know what that means.

"Wasp," another old woman said, talking to the driver. Whoa, there were _two _people in front? "Hand me the girl's coin. I want to bite it!"

"You bit it last time, Anger! It's my turn now," I heard somebody say. Must be Tempest.

Make that _three _old ladies in front.

"Are you sure this is safe, Piper?" Leo asked, his teeth chattering.

"I'm sure. I learned this from Annabeth. The Gray Sisters are very wise," I said. Once I said it, I doubted it a little.

"_Gray Sisters?"_ Jason butted in.

I nodded. "Didn't you see the sign on the door?"

Leo and Jason immediately shook their heads. The cab was moving at an unimaginable fast rate. I gripped Leo and Jason's shoulders tightly, my hands shaking. Jason held my hand in assurance.

The Gray Sisters were still arguing about the eye and the coin. How could they argue about a coin? The eye was understandable. I was about to smack the three of them in their heads when Leo cut me off.

"JUST GIVE THE STUPID EYE TO WASP ALREADY!" Leo yelled. I looked at him. Leo was even _worse _than what I was feeling. He was sweating and his face was pale.

"Red light," Anger said.

"'Tis not," Tempest said.

Wasp continued and I was a hundred percent sure that Tempest was wrong. We were heading towards a train. I didn't even _notice _that we were on train tracks. I prayed immediately, _Aphrodite, goddess of love, my Mom, I want you to know that I did my best today. I shall die a death of a hero, who was on her way to steal a golden apple. Maybe Hera won't spare me. But I'll leave it to you._

We were approaching the train and I closed my eyes. I let go of Jason and Leo's shoulders and instead I hugged the both of them.

"If we die, the least I could tell you guys is that I love you," I said, my eyes still closed.

I turned my head to the right, wondering if Leo was on my right. "Leo, you may be a klutz, but you're the _best _klutz in the world. Always know that I love you."

I then turned my head to the left, to Jason. "Jason, I may have hated you before and now, but I already consider you as my best friend. I love you, too."

I took a peek and noticed that we were inches away from the train. _Goodbye, _I thought.

~0~

"Piper…"

"PIPER!"

I sat up, startled. _What happened? _I looked at where I was. I was in a forest. A park, technically. I was sitting on a bench, and I could smell the smell of tempuras in the air. _I'm in heaven, _I thought. I stood up and my head throbbed. Before I could collapse, somebody helped me back to the bench. Jason put a warm towel on my forehead while Leo put the cooked tempuras on a plate.

"What happened?" I asked again.

"It's like this," Leo stopped to bite his hamburger. He muttered a "Here's yours, Jason," to Jason and handed him his burger.

Leo continued. "After you said your _last words, _you fainted. The end."

"Okay. But where are we?" I asked, looking around the park. As if that could help.

"California," Jason said.

_California? That _fast? I realized that I said this aloud. Jason put his hamburger down.

"It just so happened that the train we bumped into was headed to California. Being the cab smoky, it went right through it. So the Gray Sisters didn't do much."

I said an "Oh" to him and noticed that Jason kept murmuring something like "They wasted my drachma."

I ate my tempura silently when I remembered something.

"Now that we are in California, where is the garden of the Hesperides?" I asked.

"Mount Tamalpais," Jason said.

Leo choked. "I understand that you guys are smart, but don't leave me out."

"How do we get there?" I asked, ignoring what Leo said. "The Gray—"

"Enough with those creepy hags!" Leo shuddered. We looked at him.

"Leo's right. We have to find a _safe _transportation," Jason pointed out.

I kept quiet. California and Mount Tamalpais…

"Man, this was harder than I thought," Leo complained.

Then something came to my mind. Like the way peanut butter and jam tasted good. Like the way tempura and the tempura sauce tasted good.

Like the way California and San Francisco were near each other.

"I know the one who can bring us there."

~0~

"Are you sure about this, Piper?"

"How come I've heard this question before?" I giggled.

"We shouldn't be putting a mortal's life in danger," Leo countered.

I pulled a wire from Mrs. Chase's plants. They were dead anyway.

I handed them to Leo. "Make me a wristwatch."

And he grabbed it reluctantly.

Jason pressed the doorbell and we waited. A man with sandy hair just like Annabeth's opened the door. He had blue eyes and he was holding this Bionicle toy.

"Piper?" The man said, his eyes wide.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Chase. Do you mind if you drive us to Mount Tam? Just the entrance would be fine."

"Not directly!" Jason hissed.

"How then?" I hissed back.

Mr. Chase sighed. "How about telling me what happened?"

Mr. Chase opened the door for us to enter. The house was simple in a nice way. There were scattered LEGOs all over the floor, and the house smelled like chocolate chip cookies and milk. Mr. Chase brought us to his study room and let us sit down.

"So?" he prompted.

I took a deep breath and told him about my errand and that I needed to steal a golden apple that was in the garden of the Hesperides located in Mount Tam. Mr. Chase nodded when I finished.

"I see…just the entrance? Are you sure?"

"Just the entrance, sir," Leo replied.

Mr. Chase stood up. "In that case, let's get going."

We went out of the house and entered Mr. Chase's car. It was a 15-minute drive to Mount Tam, and Leo kept on changing the radio stations for fun. Jason got irritated so he smacked Leo's hand away from the stereo. We just settled for 'Fireworks' by Katy Perry.

We finally arrived the entrance of Mount Tam. We got down the car and said our thank yous to Mr. Chase.

"Before we go…" I said. "Do you mind if I just drink water?"

"Where?" Leo asked, still going on about the wristwatch I told him to make for me.

I pointed at a creek. "Just over there. Saves me money."

They both nodded and I ran towards the creek. The creek was not part of the tourist spot so nobody was looking. I kneeled and bent down. I cupped my hands and drank water from there. Man, was I parched. I was about to leave when I came up with a brilliant idea. I dipped my head into the creak and splashed myself with water. Hey, it was hot. I sighed in relief and stood up. Instinctively, I looked at my reflection. Dripping wet, but still normal.

Then the strangest thing happened. My reflection raised its arm, even if I didn't. I touched my shoulder and other parts of my body like some deranged lunatic just to check if I was dreaming. But my reflection wasn't following me. The water rose and I took a step back. Unfortunately, I was splashed with water. I lay on the ground like a fly that was about to die. Twitching and all. The weird thing was, I wasn't wet. I was wet 5 seconds ago, but not anymore. I stood up and drew Katoptris. _Something is _definitely _wrong, _I thought.

"What's wrong, all-amazing-Piper?"

I turned around and gasped. A girl of about my age and height stood in front of me. She wore jeans, a shirt, snowboarding jacket, and boots. She had choppy and uneven hair like mine's. Her eyes had different colors.

It was _me._

It's hard to explain, but it's really _me _right in front of me.

"Wha—"

"Cat got your tongue?" she snickered. I'm going to call her evil Piper so I won't confuse you guys.

I ran away from her and towards Jason and Leo. You may think that I'm a wimp, but evil Piper creeped the jujubes out of me.

"What's wrong?" Jason demanded.

I couldn't speak and I was panting. The grass rustled and I looked up to see evil Piper again. Why the heck was she following me?

Leo and Jason gasped. They both gulped.

"_What _is up with you guys?" evil Piper asked irritatingly.

"You," I managed to say. "I know who you are."

Evil Piper snorted. "_Who _then?"

"You're a figment from my imagination!" I declared.

Jason looked at me in disgust. I was kidding!

"You are so stupid," evil Piper said, shaking her head disapprovingly.

That did it. "Oh yeah? How about we fight, then?"

When I said that, maybe I was stupid.

Evil Piper smiled an evil smile. "Why not?"

The ground shook and I was pushed to the center with evil Piper. I tried to run to Leo and Jason, but an invisible barrier hit me.

"It was to avoid interference," evil Piper shrugged.

"Bring it on," I said, pointing Katoptris at her.

Evil Piper brought out her weapon. It was a bow and arrow. She really _was _the opposite of me. She charged forward and I dodged. I lunged for her arm, but she pinned me with her arrow on the invisible barrier. I aimed Katoptris at her and it hit successfully on her arm. She dropped her bow and arrow, which gave me time to remove the arrow that pinned me to the barrier. I got it out and ran to get my dagger.

Evil Piper already got her weapon, but I made her trip as she ran to me. The grass seemed to suck her leg. It was gross. Then I remembered that she was made out of my reflection. From water. I bent down and got Katoptris from the ground. I crawled on the grass behind her and slashed her left leg. She tripped and I watched evil Piper dissolve and be suck down to the grass. I shuddered.

"That was easy," I said triumphantly.

"You know…" Jason finally spoke up. "For a minute out there, I thought opposite you would be _nice."_

My head snapped. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Guys, we have more important things to do," Leo said.

Leo walked forward, leaving Jason and me.

He turned around. "Oh yeah, Piper." He tossed me something. "Finished with your wristwatch."

Leo continued walking forward.


	7. A Pig Gives Us A Ride Home

**PPOV**

We followed Leo from behind. Well, we were a kilometer away from Leo.

"You consider me as your best friend?" Jason asked. He looked serious, but I doubted it.

I scratched my chin. "Well, I thought I was _about_ to die…"

"So?" he prompted.

"I wouldn't lie if I was going to die," I said, staring him in the eye. I made a rhyme again. Now's seriously not the time to think about this.

We stared at each other for a long time, completely forgetting Leo. Jason turned his head and I could've sworn that he blushed.

"I see. You're okay, Piper."

_I'm okay? _What the heck was that supposed to mean?

Jason kept up with Leo's pace and I followed him. Leo stopped and we looked forward. A thick fog covered the mountains. It was the Mist, probably. We just stood right in front of the Mist, staring at it.

"Leo, you go first," I finally said.

"Why me?" Leo whined.

"Because you have good eyesight."

"Just because I finished your wristwatch in 30 minutes doesn't mean I have good eyesight," he countered.

"You can make fire. Make a torch and—"

"I'll go," Jason said.

We looked at him like he was committing suicide. We didn't know what was beyond the Mist, so that could be considered as suicide.

Leo and I scoffed. "Are you sure?"

Jason nodded. "Yes."

There was no point in arguing with him, so we let him go. Once Jason entered, I became nervous. "Don't die," I muttered. Jason's figure disappeared into the fog and Leo and I looked at each other. I took hold of his arm and we entered the fog.

There was nothing really scary about it. I would've laughed for being such a scaredy-cat. It wasn't Mount Tam I saw when we entered the fog. Instead, it was a beautiful field filled with trees and healthy looking fruits that grew on its branches. There were many flowers, blooming almost immediately as it was planted. How did I know? An eagle passed by and dropped a seed of a rose. We walked past all of them until we saw the most magnificent tree of all. Golden apples were hanging on its branches and under the tree were three beautiful girls with dark hair. They were sewing flowers into accessories. It was a beautiful sight. Well, except for the fact that there was this hundred-headed dragon clutching the tree and glaring at us from afar.

"We come in peace," I raised my hands in defense. The Hesperides looked at me and continued back to their work. What hospitality.

I moved slowly to the tree when the hundred-headed dragon slithered towards me. I gulped and moved back to Jason and Leo.

"What's the plan?" Leo whispered.

"Somebody can distract the dragon, while the other gets the golden apple," I suggested.

We thought about my plan. It was risky, but worth a shot. The dragon kept moving towards us and I flinched at its bad breath.

"Leo," Jason said. "Is it okay for you to distract the dragon? You can create fire."

Leo was hesitant at first. But judging from the dragon that was going near us, he nodded.

"Piper, you and I can get the apple," Jason said, looking at me. I nodded and the three of us faced the dragon. Leo stepped forward and stood straight, high and mighty. He brought out his right palm and a ball of fire appeared on top of it. The dragon didn't seem to be intimidated by this, so Leo made the ball of fire bigger and moved closer to the dragon. It winced as it saw something _way _threatening than its bad breath.

"Get the apple," Leo ordered, not taking his eyes away from the dragon. They seemed to be having a staring contest.

I looked at Jason and we both understood each other. We walked past Leo and the dragon, which was thinking whether it should go after us or stay still under the surveillance of Leo's fireball. It seemed to be ready to do both.

I couldn't take the pressure anymore, so I ran quickly. The dragon saw my movement and it was charging towards me.

"Why are you running?" Jason demanded, running as well.

"The sooner, the better!" I said, looking at the dragon that was running after us.

My heart was beating and I was getting tired. The dragon kept following us and I wondered if it gets tired too. I ran around in circles, hoping that the dragon would follow me as well. It did and I ran to Leo.

"Leo!" I shouted from afar. Leo nodded and reached for his magic tool bag. When I approached him, I went behind his back. Before the dragon could attack the three of us, Leo threw a bottle of gasoline and fire appeared out of it. The fire was concealing us, which gave Jason and me more time to get to the unprotected tree. I got another bottle of gas from Leo's bag and spilled it around the dragon. Leo made fire appear again and we continued running towards the tree. Too bad for me because I got tired. I stopped to catch a breath.

"We don't have time to rest! The dragon would eventually catch up with us!" Jason yelled. What words of assurance.

"I can't run that long!" I retorted.

Jason's eyes grew wide. "Hold on to me."

"Why?"

"Just hold on to me!"

I did as he said and put my right arm on his shoulders. Jason put his left arm around my waist, and he started running. I was screaming.

"I told you I couldn't run that long!"

Jason ignored me and we ran past by the tree. I looked at him, horrified. He continued running until we were not in the garden of the Hesperides anymore.

"We can't leave Leo!" I yelled. I was punching his shoulders with my fist.

"Do you mind shutting up?" he said through gritted teeth.

I stopped yapping but I was still mad at this jerk. How could he? How could he abandon Leo like that? It would be better if he abandoned Leo at a grocery store, but facing a hundred-headed dragon that had _really _horrible bad breath? Jason just lost a friend on facebook.

We seemed to be at the top of Mount Tam. Jason continued running until we were at the edge the mountains.

"LET GO OF ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

He ignored me again and we fell down together.

~0~

_Holy Cheesecakes. Holy Cow. Holy Goats. Holy everything that is Holy._

I felt the air pressure rise as we were falling down. My nose hurt so much that I let go of Jason's shoulders and pinched my nose. Jason tightened his grip on my waist and I kept wondering to myself, _if he doesn't want me to die, why the Hades did he make us fall down?_

I was about to scream, when we slowed down from falling. I looked down and noticed that we were flying.

Flying.

Flying.

Flying.

Holy Crabs, Jason can _fly._

I shrieked and Jason smirked. We started going higher until we got back to Mount Tam. We were still flying and Jason brought the two of us back to the garden of the Hesperides.

I didn't know what happened to Leo, but I was really scared. What if the dragon ripped him into pieces? Or burn him with his own fire? Or maybe ripped apart and _then _burn him?

But it was the opposite.

No, no. Leo wasn't ripping the dragon apart. Nor was he burning the dragon. Instead, they were _playing _with fire. I mean, the dragon kept spitting fire at Leo, and he gets it and juggles with it in his hands. The dragon seemed to be amused.

"We better get the apple before the dragon notices us," Jason whispered.

I nodded at him and we flew towards the tree. The Hesperides looked at us from above like we were Peter Pan and Wendy. We reached the tree and I grabbed on to a golden apple. I was inches away from getting the apple when we suddenly fell down. Our backs hit the ground and it made such a loud sound that the dragon looked at us. Leo's eyes were wide.

"C'mon! Don't tell me you need to catch a breath?" Leo joked. His voice was shaking.

The dragon growled as it charged towards us. Jason and I came forward to fight the beast when Jason said, "Climb the tree and get the apple. Leo and I will deal with this."

I turned around and went back to the tree. I turned my head to have a glimpse of what is happening. Jason pulled out a coin, Gah, why would he need a coin, and flipped it. Then the most amazing thing happened. The coin changed into a double-edged sword. My mouth was literally hanging open. Jason turned his head and looked at me. When he saw me looking at his sword, he blushed and turned away. He may be a jerk, but it's quite obvious that he doesn't like boasting.

How cute.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it. Did I just say '_cute' _to a boy?

Just by calling a boy 'cute', my face became red.

"You might want to get the apple, demigod," a Hesperid said. I snapped out of my daydream and looked at the tree again. I had no idea how to climb a tree. I looked for some resources to use to climb the tree, but I found none. I was wasting time. I looked at my jeans and noticed how terrible it looked. The end of my jeans was ripped. I bent down and unsheathe Katoptris. I cut off my jeans until it reached my knees. I did the same on the other sleeve of my jeans and tied them together making a rope. I wrapped the rope around the tree and started climbing. Boy, was it hard. I was sweating like bullets and my nose was itching. I was already halfway through the tree and I reached for the apple. It was hard, and I didn't want to fall down again and waste all of my efforts. I got my dagger out and chopped off the branch of the apple where it was hanging. It fell down and I jumped down and reached for it. _Piece of cake, _I thought.

"Hey, guys!" I said, running to them. Jason was at the top of the dragon's head, which was a lot by the way, while Leo was pounding on the dragon's toe with his hammer. "I got the apple!"

Big mistake. The dragon turned around and looked at me. I gulped. When it saw me holding the apple, it charged towards me. I threw the apple to Leo and he caught it, and brought out my dagger.

"Fight me like a real man!" I said, trying to sound confident.

It growled and it was already a few feet away from me. I charged as well and stroked him in his stomach. He groaned in pain and I almost fainted because of its bad breath if it weren't for Jason and Leo who got me. I took Katoptris out of its stomach and ran as if life depended on it. The dragon following us, and Leo threw in some beans. The dragon was smacked in the face before it reached us. We continued walking until we were finally out of the garden.

"What were those beans you threw at them?" I asked, panting.

Leo lay down on the floor and tourists kept looking at him. "Connor and Travis gave it to me before we started this errand. They stole it from Hermes."

"And what exactly does it do?" Jason turned his weapon back into a coin.

"Well, it makes an invisible wall that only lasts for five minutes."

"Why didn't you use them in the first place?" I groaned.

"Oh yeah…"

I sighed and flicked away a leaf that was hanging on my jeans. Leo and Jason looked at my knee-length jeans.

"What happened?" Leo asked, his eyes wide.

"I needed a rope in order to climb the tree."

Jason raised his eyebrows. "So you cut off your jeans?"

I just shrugged and helped Leo get up from the floor. We were headed back home now that we were done doing this suicidal errand.

We went out of Mount Tam, when a white glow shimmered above us. We looked at it and the glow fell down. On the floor was a pink animal with a curly tail. It was a pig. I tried not to laugh at Jason and Leo's expressions.

The pig stood up. "G-g-good…a-afternoon…oink! Demigods!" the pig said. "I'm h-he-here to bring you b-b-back…oink! Home!"

Leo crumpled his nose. "You? You're a pig."

The pig looked offended.

"Leo!" I snapped. I turned to the pig. "Whose orders?"

"Lord Hermes, o-o-of course! Oink!"

"I see. Well then, lets go."

~0~

We finally reached Mount Olympus. I know what ya'll gonna say next, but we rode on the pig to get home. And that made Leo shut up when it came to 'Don't judge a book by its cover'.

The pig actually did everything for us. It just so happened that its name was Peggy, a _boy_ pig. And it brought us home, starting from my house, and gave the apple to Hermes for us. I practically cried. Peggy and I would make such great friends.

When I reached my house, I did the same routine. Took a bath, rested for a while, and walked to the pavilion for dinner. Some of my nymphs and satyr friends congratulated me, and I sat down with the gang.

"Piper, Piper, Piper!" Lacy shrieked, once I sat down. "You don't know what's going to happen next!"

"I won't know if you won't tell me."

Lacy was about to speak when she fainted. Whoa. Too excited, I guess.

Annabeth continued Lacy's story. "Your mother has invited the whole Mount Olympus to a tea party."

I choked out my Orange juice.


	8. I Attend A Mad Tea Party

**PPOV**

Have you ever heard of a 'dye' before? Because if you haven't, then I'll have to tell you about it.

First off, since Mom was having a tea party with the _whole _Mount Olympus, we were getting ready. And Silena Beauregard kept convincing us girls to dye our hairs golden blonde. Why? Ask her. I didn't come up with this idea. I only agreed because they said it wasn't permanent.

Now here's the thing: I know why mortals call it a 'dye'. It's because you feel like doing it once you see the results.

Brown was already good, if not better. But golden blonde hair that looks like a dirty mop? I wanted to grab Katoptris and kill myself.

"Agh, Silena!" I grunted. "You said this was temporary!_ Waterproof, _to be exact."

The girls tied me up with a rope to prevent myself from getting my dagger and kill myself. Well, it wasn't working. So, they were clutching me tightly. This was worse than wearing a corset.

"I am _not _going to the tea party! Not because I look stupid, but because this whole idea is stupid itself!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs. Silena just shrugged and Thalia tossed Annabeth a long piece of cloth. My eyes grew wide and tried to stand up even if I was tied.

"DON'T YOU DARE—" I was cut off immediately. Annabeth tied the rope against my mouth so I couldn't speak. This was against human rights!

Silena laughed. "Finally! Some peace and quiet."

"MGE MIGH MHE MOMO MPP!" I muffled a scream. It was supposed to be 'Get this thing off of me!'

"It's still noisy. Can't you tie it harder, Annabeth?" Thalia whined.

I stopped moving and kept quiet. _No way _am I going to be tied up again.

They continued pampering themselves. Since my hair was dying—I mean, _dyed, _I couldn't wear my clothes yet. The three of them tested the dye on me, and when they saw the outcome, they didn't bother doing it anymore. Screw them.

Anyway, we were fixing ourselves at my house. Our dresses were lay out on my bed, and the three of them were wrapped in robes walking around my room snatching _their _make-up and borrowing accessories that Mom gave me. The tea party was to be held at the 18th century Anthony House in Cornwall, and it will start at exactly 12 pm. Of course, there will be tourists. But Zeus put up a sign that it will be closed and he put a lot of strong Mist to cover the whole garden.

They were already dressed up and ready. Thalia was wearing this floral cocktail dress that had a blue sash around the waist and a small ribbon stuck on it. Her black hair was still down, and the silver tiara was still across her brow. Annabeth's hair was braided in a stylized way, with carnation pink ribbons twirling around them. She was wearing this light pink frilly dress with a sash around the waist as well. Silena's was velvet with many layers and sash around the waist too. Her brown hair was tied up in an elegant bun. All their dresses were strapless, had sashes around the waist, and had the brand of Betsy Johnson. They were nothing like my pale blue dress that had sleeves and looked like I was Alice in Wonderland. They untied me and I immediately stood up and jumped to my bed.

"Piper, it's already 12. Don't you want to dress up now?" Silena said, pulling me out of my bed.

I grumbled. "I'll dress up when this _thing _gets out of my hair."

"If that's the case, we'll be leaving now. Did step-dad give you your bubble machine?"

"Wait," I walked to my study table and opened a few drawers. I saw a small red and blue whistle and grabbed it. It was actually a bubble machine that was inserted in the invitations when they were given out. "It's with me."

They nodded and put on their tea party hats (I don't know what they're called) and put on their gloves. They waved at me and I waved back. Once they got out of my room and left for the tea party, I rushed to my bathroom. I poured water to my bathtub and dipped my hair in it. A few of the dye went out, but it still looked horrible. I kept on scrubbing my hair that my arms got tired. So I just took a bath instead and washed my hair at the same time.

I was done and I looked at the mirror.

"Yes!" I cheered. My hair looked completely normal again. I went out of my bathroom to dress up, when I noticed the time. 2 pm. _What? How could I take too long at the bathroom? _I scrambled towards my bed, picked up my dress, and dressed up immediately. I wore silver flats and put my gloves and hat on, not minding to fix my hair. The girly side of me walked to my mirror and put powder on my face and neck. Hey, I was still a girl. I got my bubble machine that was laid on top of my table and ran outside my house. Once I got outside, I blew my bubble machine. A bubble came out and it flew closer to me. It popped when it touched my cheek and I giggled. Suddenly, I was covered in a large bubble, flying through the sky. I looked at the view and noticed that the whole Mount Olympus was empty. _Gah, I'm _super _late._

When Mount Olympus was not in view anymore, the bubble popped and I landed just outside the garden's gate. The walls were old, of course. There were two posts with a lamp on top, and the black gate with spirals and curls looked magnificent. Just from the outside, I could already see the inside. There were mansions around the huge and green field. Tables that were designed beautifully with white cloths and frills and ribbons scattered on the field. It was such a sight to see!

I entered and I could see the Olympians sitting and talking among themselves while eating. There was a small, wide stage that was in front of the tables, and people were already dancing on top of it. The weather was cloudy and it just added to the perfect scenery. Nobody seemed to notice that I was gone, so I just skipped to the buffet table to grab some lunch.

"And so the dainty lady finally arrives," a voice said behind my back. I was in the middle of getting an apple, so I dropped it in surprise.

I looked at my back and saw Jason. He was wearing a white suit, and I had to admit that he looked _very _handsome.

"You dropped my apple," I said in a British accent.

Jason laughed and imitated me. "Why won't we get another apple, then?"

I flashed him a smile and he grabbed an apple from the buffet table. I got a plate; filled it with PB&J sandwiches, poured punch to my glass, and walked with Jason to the gangs' table. Apparently, the others know Jason already.

"Jason!" Leo stood up excitedly when he saw us approaching them. "Tell them the part where I threw a bottle of gas and make fire appear out of it!"

"We know that already!"

"Then the time that I threw magic beans to the floor to save us from the dragon!"

"We know that too."

Leo slumped back to his chair, disappointed. We sighed and Jason pulled open a seat for me. I sat down and immediately ate my sandwiches.

"What took you so long?" Annabeth said, as she moved closer to me. I gulped in my last sandwich.

"I told you I had to remove that stupid dye."

Jason looked at me incredulously. I could've sworn he was about to laugh. "You _dyed _your hair?"

Thalia and Silena laughed. I curled my lip at them and took a sip of the punch. Hm. Strawberry.

"They said they'd do it too!" I countered defensively. The both of them burst into laughter again.

Thalia tried to stop laughing. "She…she…she looked like a dirty mop!"

Annabeth sighed. I eyed Silena and Thalia, but they still kept laughing.

"Cookies?" a waitress asked. There was something about this waitress that made me wonder if I should get a cookie. I don't even _remember_ seeing any waitresses here in the garden. This party had a buffet meal, so I don't see the point of waitresses here. Even Jason seemed to find the waitress suspicious.

Leo stood up. "Oh, yes!"

He snatched a cookie from her and the waitress faced me to offer a cookie. They looked really delicious, like it was fresh from the oven. I couldn't force myself to _not _get a cookie.

I reluctantly grabbed a cookie and bit it. Taste was even _better _than the smell. I finished the whole cookie and reached for another one, when Jason smacked Leo's cookie away from him. The waitress looked offended.

"If you want a cookie, get one yourself!" Leo said. I looked at Jason. He was acting rude. He must've read my thoughts, because he ate it instead.

Leo gasped. "I told you—"

"This is not a normal cookie," Jason said immediately. He looked worried and alarmed at the same time. As if he knew what would happen. "It puts you to sleep. And once you sleep, you enter your own nightmare." He looked at Leo. "_That's_ whyI took your cookie."

I choked out my second cookie. Everybody looked at me and Jason's eyes grew wide in horror. Not because I choked the cookie, but because I ate it.

"Why did you eat it?" he said, standing up.

"It was too delicious!" I yelled back at him, standing up as well.

Then suddenly my head throbbed. I could see black patches everywhere, as if I was dissolving. The waitress laughed menacingly and everybody, including the other guests, stood up from the table.

"Piper!"

And the darkness took over.

~0~

I stood up and my head ached _a lot. _I looked around to see where I was. I was still in the Anthony House, only I was the only one there. No tables, no people, no cookies, nothing. I scanned around the green, grassy field, frightened at its emptiness.

"Piper?"

I looked behind me and saw Jason. _Jason._

I started running towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"The cookie…" he began. "We both ate them. And right now, we are together in the same place. That never happens…"

"Huh? What do you mean?" I was in panic-mode already.

Somebody played music. The kind of music that was played every time Pac-man scores pac-dots and gets to go to the next stage. We looked at where the sound came from, and I gasped. It was a _huge _arcade stimulator. I didn't know what the game was, but I ran towards it, sitting on one of its chairs. Apparently, the game only starts when the other chair is occupied. I looked at Jason and urged him to come here and sit down. He followed and sat down on the other chair. A gigantic megaphone appeared, and I clapped at its awesomeness. Jason stared at me like some fool.

"Welcome!" the megaphone announced. "To the most awaited game of time! The Truth!"

I scoffed. "'Truth' what?"

"That's the name of the game. 'The Truth'," Bob said. Now don't get me started on why I named him Bob.

"That's lame!" I booed. Suddenly, a huge piece of cloth appeared out of nowhere, ready to shut my mouth. "Never mind. It's awesome!" I said, my voice shaking. The piece of cloth retreated.

"Let's start with the first question!" Bob said. A metal belt clutched my stomach so I wouldn't get away. The same thing happened to Jason.

~0~

Question 1:

Bob: When did you two meet?

Me: He bumped into me.

[Big water gun appears out of nowhere]

Jason: No. It was _you _who bumped into me.

Me: Yeah, yeah!

Question 2:

Bob: Do you find Jason handsome?

Me: No! He's ugly!

[Big water gun appears again]

Me: Yes! He's handsome, all right.

Question 3:

Bob: Do you find Piper beautiful?

Jason: No.

Me: Hey! Where's the big water gun?

Bob: He's telling the truth.

Question 4:

Bob: Did you, or did you not, steal Michael Yew's apple last month?

Me: I was hungry!

Question 5:

Bob: What do you think of Jason?

Me: Oh, that's too easy. He's arrogant, a know-it-all, and a jerk.

[Big water gun appears]

Me: I'm not taking that back.

[Splash!]

_Time Lapse_

Question 99

Bob: Do you like Jason?

Me: No.

Bob: Do you want to get squirted by the water gun for the ninety-fourth time?

Me: Is this the one hundredth question?

[Splash!]

Me: I wasn't even lying this time!

Bob: I know. You're just annoying me.

~0~

"And the last question is for Jason!" Bob announced. I yawned. _Finally! _"Do you like Piper?"

That question made my heart jump. I looked at Jason, who looked pissed at Bob, who looked eager at Jason, who looked pissed at Bob, who looked eager at Jason, who—you get the point.

It took a lot of time for Jason to answer this question. Jason looked at me, and softened. I raised my eyebrows.

"No."

A big water gun appeared and splashed at him.


	9. My Brother Messes Up

**PPOV**

Before I had time to react at what he said, the whole place started to shake and everything started flickering until it became dark.

I woke up to the sounds of my friends shouting my name and somebody slapping my face. I sat up immediately. _Nobody slaps me._

"Piper!" Thalia exclaimed. I didn't have time to reply to her since I was looking for the one who was slapping me a while ago. Turns out, it was Leo.

"Why did you slap me, _Leo?"_ I glared at him.

Leo gulped. "How could you be thinking about that at a time like this?" It was obvious he was changing the topic. But I had to admit, it worked.

"What happened?" I asked, looking around. I was on a bed, probably inside the Anthony House, and all of my friends were surrounding me.

"You were _literally _about to dissolve if it weren't for Apollo and his healing powers. You were unconscious, so we brought you here inside," Annabeth said.

I jumped out of the bed. "Jason," I looked at them. "Where's Jason?"

When I mentioned it, they started panicking. I ran outside the room and looked for Jason. Considering that the house was too big, I looked at each and every room. The last room was the attic, and I sighed in relief when I saw him. Jason was already awake. He was looking at the window, not even wondering where the others were. It must hurt to be forgotten. I cleared my throat.

"You're awake."

He looked at me, tired. "Yeah."

I walked up to him and sat beside him in the bed. He didn't seem to mind because he kept his eyes glued on the window.

"Hey! How come we aren't wet? I mean, we got hit by the water gun, remember?" I asked, touching my dress a million times. Then again I was stupid. It was just a dream.

"What else do you remember?" he ignored my question. He turned around to look at me.

I scratched my chin. "Well, there were the questions and Bob."

"Bob?" he asked, managing a smile.

"Yeah. The megaphone. And the last question—" I stopped. Once I said it, we started blushing. Jason shifted awkwardly. "You lied."

He sighed. "I didn't mean that I _like _like you. I meant that I like you as a friend."

For some reason, I felt sad. But then another emotion set in. "Why would I think that you like me? There's nothing going on between us."

"I just wanted to make myself clear—"

"Forget it," I didn't mean to raise my voice. "There's no way, in a million years, that I would like a jerk like you. So you don't have to remind me."

I left the attic without listening to his reply. The tea party wasn't over yet, so I grabbed a cupcake from the buffet table and brought out my bubble machine. I blew it, and in 2 minutes I was already in Mount Olympus. I finished my cupcake, so I walked to my house and dressed up into a shirt and jeans. I didn't bother wearing my boots since I didn't have any place to go. I lay down on my bed, put my IPod on, and closed my eyes.

~0~

It was 5 pm when I woke up.

I stood up and wore my boots to go around Mount Olympus. Everybody was already back from the tea party when I got outside my house. I walked around, not thinking of going to the field because I was tired of their questions. Some kids approached me to buy a cup of lemonade juice and I gladly bought one. Once I was done, I headed to the trash bin to throw the empty cup, when somebody touched my shoulder. I spun around only to see Eros.

"What _now?" _I groaned.

He grinned at me. "I feel that you are experiencing troubles with _love._"

"I'm not in love. And I don't plan to."

"So you'll be an old maid?" he raised his eyebrows at me. "And milk the cows?"

I clenched my fist until the plastic cup broke. "I'll tell you about it after you throw my trash. And I am _not _in _love_."

After Eros threw my trash, we sat down on a public bench. He put his arm around my shoulder, and I shoved it away in disgust.

"Now _this _is a problem. You became so sassy right after that boy rejected you," he said, patting my arm.

"I repeat: He did not reject me. And I did not confess to him because I'm not in love with him!" I said, gritting my teeth.

Eros shrugged. "Whatever. Just tell me what happened."

I told him about the time we ate the cookies—delicious, by the way—to the time Jason and I argued. When I finished, he laughed.

I looked at him outrageously. "Why are you laughing?"

"He didn't reject you! He is just trying to hide his feelings for you," he said, still laughing. I punched him in his arm.

"I told you I did not confess to him. And how do you know?" I said, narrowing my eyes.

Eros stood up. "I am the God of Love!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Eros sat down again and moved closer to me. He looked around to make sure nobody was listening.

"Hey, why won't we prank that boy?" he whispered. I lit up at that and nodded immediately. I was about to say something like 'Where does he live?' but Eros pointed at a boy standing in front of a shoe store. It was Jason.

We stood up quietly from the bench and hid behind it. Eros put his bag on the floor and pulled out his bow and arrows. I looked at him.

"Use normal arrows!" I hissed.

"I am!"

I rolled my eyes again and watched as Eros aimed at the sign of the store. Probably so that it can hit Jason's head. I counted mentally in my mind and watched as Eros let go of the arrow. It soared through the sky and flawlessly hit the sign. When it hit it, the arrow bounced back. Eros looked outraged. I laughed at his failure and watched again as the arrow kept bouncing to various objects. It hit a ball, but it just bounced back. I was surprised. Surely the ball should've popped, but instead it bounced back. Eros's eyes widened.

"I used the wr—"

He was cut off when the arrow hit the small of Jason's back. Jason arched his shoulders and knelt down in pain. I ran immediately to him and Eros followed me. I pulled out the arrow from his back, and Jason yelped. We carried him to the public bench and let him sit down. Surprisingly, his back wasn't bleeding. I sighed in relief and faced Jason.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Piper," Eros warned. "Don't."

Too late. Jason slung his arm over my neck and pulled me down to kiss him. I tried pulling away, but he wouldn't let go. I bit Jason's lower lip and he finally stopped.

"What's the matter?" Jason asked, confused.

I looked at Eros. "What did you do?"

"I tried telling you, Pipes. I used the wrong arrow."

He used the wrong arrow.

He used the wrong arrow.

He used the _wrong _arrow.

"WHAT?" I shrieked.

He sighed. "I used the wrong arrow."

"I know what you said! But can't you reverse it? Like hit him again with the same arrow and he will turn back to normal?" I asked, wishing that it were that easy.

"Doesn't work that way. It lasts a few hours, so—"

"Piper," Jason said, holding on to my waist. "Who is this guy? Is he your boyfriend? Your lover? I am jealous."

"Not now, Jason," I snapped at him.

"No! Piper is mine!" he yelled at Eros. Jason stood up from the bench and tightened his grip on my waist. I tried getting away from him, but he was too strong.

Eros tried not to laugh. "I am her brother."

"Oh," he loosened his arm on my waist. Jason extended his free hand at Eros. "Don't worry. I promise to take care of your sister."

They shook hands and Eros waved at me. He was slowly disappearing.

"See you later, sis!"

And my brother left me with the obsessed.

I looked at Jason. "I'm tired. I'm going home."

"I will accompany you at your home," he said.

"No. I am going to sleep," I replied, slowly removing his arm away from my waist so that I won't offend him. Unfortunately, he noticed it, so he tightened it again.

"We can sleep together," he insisted.

I choked. Jason immediately let go of my waist and cupped his hand on my face. He leaned down to kiss me.

I choked again and pushed him away from me.

"What was that for?" I screamed.

"That awful disease has injured your soft and beautiful lips that I use with mine. I just healed it again," he shrugged.

I blushed an awful lot. "It's not your lips, stupid. And you didn't heal it. You made it worse."

"Shall I kiss it again so that it may fully heal?"

"It's healed already!"

I sighed and Jason pulled me in for a hug. I patted his back and we let go of each other. Jason took hold of my hand. "Let's walk around, Piper."

~0~

Like what Jason said, we walked around.

We went to the human world and Jason kept complimenting my choppy hair. That was the good part.

We played a few booths and he kept winning me those big teddy bears. How can I resist it? Every time he won me a huge prize, I would hug him in return. As if he would remember, anyway.

We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant, and he purposely let us eat the same noodle so we can kiss. That didn't happen eventually. I kept chopping it off with my fork.

Jason insisted that we take a picture together, so we went to a photo booth. Even if he wanted to keep a photo, I told him not to (since real Jason might see it) and I kept it instead. I will burn it later.

It was getting dark, so we headed back to Mount Olympus. Jason accompanied home since he wanted to help me carry the big stuff toys. I threw them into my bed and went outside with Jason (he was waiting for me). I checked my watch. 8:59 pm. One more minute, and the magic would wear off. Not that I was sad or anything. Jason hugged me, and I said goodbye. Before I could enter my house, he grabbed my hand and kissed me on my lips again. Can't be helped, though. He was under a spell. We pulled away and I noticed something.

Jason smirked.

"The magic wore off 3 hours ago, idiot. I am surprised you didn't notice it."


	10. Sparky Steals My Heart

**PPOV**

Smack

Kapow

Boom

"Die," I glared, watching Jason on the floor holding on to dear life. It was a good thing my reflexes were awesome. You wanna know what happened and why he was dying on the floor? I punched Jason on his face, pushed him down, and kicked him hard on his soft spot. **(A/N: Thanks to iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream!)** He was clutching his stomach, and the good me felt that I was overreacting. _Hey, that's what he gets for making fun of the queen of awesomeness_, the bad me thought. I was about to head for the door to my house, when I noticed that Jason was holding his double-edged sword and pointing it at his heart. I grabbed it immediately from him and leaned down to him.

"Are you committing suicide?" I scolded.

Jason looked at me, bewildered. "How did you do that?"

"How did I do what?"

"You…" he trailed off. "You told me to die. And I felt myself doing it."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

I was about to stand up, when Jason grabbed me and kissed me. Seriously! Am I some kind of doll that you can randomly kiss?

Jason let go and shrugged. "I needed a goodnight kiss."

I punched him on the face and entered my house to sleep.

~0~

I woke up and immediately dressed up. I stomped my way to the river and approached Leo, who was just staring out in the horizon. It's 3 am, and I was in a bad mood. Leo looked at me and urged me to sit down beside him. I did, and I leaned my head on his shoulders.

"What's wrong, Beauty Queen?" Leo asked, still looking elsewhere.

"Jason made fun of me," I complained. I sounded like a five year old. "Yesterday. Thinks he's so smart, when he's just a jerk."

"You like him."

"Leo, if you keep saying that, I swear I will drown you in the river."

"You like him. Drown me in the river."

I sighed. I couldn't drown my best friend. "How can you tell? I hate him."

He shrugged. "The more you hate, the more you love."

"Well, let's say I do. He doesn't even like me," I pointed out.

"He does," Leo said. "I can see it in his eyes."

I stared at Leo. He looked serious. And serious Leo was often right.

"Give me an instance."

"Our quest. The way he looked at you when you were unconscious after riding that smoke car."

I didn't know why, but I blushed. Drat. This wasn't good. Leo couldn't see me anyway since I was leaning on his shoulder. And it was impossible that Jason liked me. In fact, he _hated_ me. He hated me for putting him in danger to do Hermes's errands, for stepping on his foot on my birthday, for calling him mean names, for being so judgmental and stupid, for pulling pranks on him.

He hated me for bumping into him the first time we met.

My left eye started to bring out a small tear. Some mood-swings I have. Stupid tear ducts. I hated it when people hate me. Drew's an exception. I've never been this sad. I wiped my eyes immediately. I removed my head from Leo's shoulder and another tear escaped. I was about to wipe it, when a hand wiped it for me. I jumped in surprise and stood up immediately.

"Jason?"

Jason looked at me, and even Leo jumped in surprise when he saw Jason appear out of nowhere. We just stood there, looking at him.

"Why are you crying?" Jason finally said. "It doesn't fit you."

I agree with him. Crying was not my thing. I just shrugged and changed the topic. "I'm going to eat breakfast. Bye."

"At_ three-ten_?" Leo asked, laughing. I glared at him.

Jason stood up as well. "Piper, you mind if I talk to you?"

"Yes."

Jason gave me an I-will-kill-you glare.

"Fine," I grumbled.

Leo left and headed to who-knows-where. We just stood there, exchanging silent death glares. Jason cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry about yesterday."

"What was that?"

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I said."

"No, I don't," I sang out to annoy him.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

I rested my thumb on my chin like what detectives do on TV. I patted my right foot and thought about what he said. He's sorry, all right.

"Fine," I finally said.

"What?"

"Don't make me take it back," I threatened.

~0~

The whole day was completely boring.

The elevator to the human world was under-construction, so we spent the whole day here in Mount Olympus. We played all sorts of games. From Hide and Seek, to this Filipino game called Patintero. The games were fun, but we got tired immediately and Connor and Travis kept cheating. We played board games, but then again the stupid twins kept cheating. We settled for Annabeth's adventures in college.

"So, anyway, Professor Gillingham taught us about—"

"School stuff, what else," Percy mumbled.

"—this new building with this new style of architecture."

I yawned. "Annabeth, I'm going to go somewhere for awhile. Be back in a few."

Annabeth nodded and I stood up from the grass and headed to the city proper. I could tell Jason was following me, but I didn't say anything.

"Why are you following me?" I asked irritably.

"Because I know you won't come back," Jason said bluntly.

"Good point."

We walked silently and I sat down at the public bench Eros and I used yesterday. I just stared at the sky and Jason, I think, kept on moving the clouds. Like this Cumulus cloud became a penguin. Now that's cute.

I looked at Jason. "I want cotton candy."

"Buy one," he said.

I grumbled. I don't even have money. I think Jason must've read my mind because he suddenly held me bridal style and we flew up in the air. I couldn't help but blush at the way Jason held me. I tried to avoid eye contact so that he wouldn't do his signature smirk. We slowed down and Jason landed us on this cloud. Wow, I thought clouds were transparent and all. He lay down on it and gestured me to do the same. I did, and I looked again at the sky.

Jason curled his fingers around the cloud and held it up for me to see. "There. Cotton candy. All you need is a stick."

"It's not sanitary," I pointed out. "Plus, there's no flavor."

"Actually, I can clean it. And this one is even sweeter than the ones they're selling at stores," he said.

That makes sense. "Okay, give me one."

Jason stood up and flew down. I actually panicked because I thought he left me here to die. Jason came back and this time, he was holding a stick (a clean one). He reached for the cloud above us and twirled it around the stick. After that, he summoned some small winds to clean my cotton candy. He handed it to me when he was done.

I bit it. "Not bad. In fact, this is the best one I've ever tasted."

"Told you," he said, sitting beside me.

It was quiet again, probably because Jason wanted to give me time to finish the sweet cotton candy. I finished it and put the stick in my pocket to throw it later.

I glanced at Jason and noticed that he was looking at me as well. Apparently, my curiosity won me over.

"What do you think of me?"

Jason seemed surprised at my question. "What do I think of you?"

"Yeah," I sat up. "I mean, I know you hate me, but I just want to know what else you think."

He blinked. "Well, you're annoying. That's all."

I smacked him in his head, and we tumbled down a few clouds that I screamed. We finally stopped and I noticed that I was on top of him. How embarrassing. I stood up to get away from him, but his hand held on to my waist. I sighed and looked at him.

"If you find me annoying, then why do you force yourself to hang around with me and kiss me and all?"

"Good thing you asked," he said, making eye contact. "But I don't know why."

Weird. I thought about joking him. "Could it be that you like me?"

Jason stared at me for a long time. I thought he was going to smirk. Instead, he didn't say anything.

"I was kidding. No need to take it personal," I laughed half-heartedly. But even if I said that, he kept looking at me.

"Dude, you're creeping me out," I whispered.

Jason moved his head forward until our faces were inches apart. I didn't pull away since I seriously had no idea what was going on. He kept moving forward until our lips met.

Now this kiss wasn't the same as the others. I'd obviously get mad if he kissed me just to annoy me. But this time, it felt real. Not a joke or anything, but like our first kiss. The lovesick me slowly wrapped my arms around his neck. Jason wrapped his arms around my waist. It seemed like forever, but I didn't want to stop. Weird, huh?

We pulled away and I thought that he would laugh or make fun of me again this time. But he just kept quiet and said something that made my heart stop.

"Yes."

And I knew then and there that he answered my question.

In fact, I realized what I was feeling.

I was in love with Jason.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whaddaya think? ;;) Me? I know it's weird, but I actually had my own 'Awwww' moments. =)) I'm sorry if it's short, because it looked long to me when I was writing it. :) Anyhoo, Read and Review!**


	11. We Have To Stick Together

**PPOV**

I found Leo sitting in the meadow filled with colorful flowers. The meadow was a place I stayed when I want to be alone. So seeing Leo in my special place seemed insulting. He was building something. A snare, I think. I'm not sure why he would wanted to put snares here, considering that this place was really safe. I came up to him and smacked him in the back of his head.

"Owzers!" he yelped. He dropped his equipment and looked at me. "What is wrong with you?"

"Why are you putting snares here?" I asked bluntly, pointing at his stuff.

Leo straightened. "There were reports that there are wild bears here." I just nodded since I wasn't particularly interested in wild bears attacking me here. I could deal with them myself.

"So you're back!" Leo grinned.

"Yeah," I replied. I had the flu two weeks ago. You see, after Jason and I ki—kis—kissed on the cloud, it started raining. Dad had me under the surveillance of a personal nurse he hired and a few guards. Probably so that I won't be able to escape my house. I wasn't even planning on leaving since I felt weak and sleepy all the time. I lay down on the meadow and Leo sat down beside me.

"Aren't you going to ask me what happened to Jason two weeks ago?" Leo joked.

I punched his arm. "No."

"Well, he was quiet, y'know. For two whole weeks he didn't talk to us. Just occasionally," he said.

"Really?" I yawned. "Why?"

Leo shrugged. "Who knows?"

I kept quiet and closed my eyes, taking in the scent of the flowers and the silent fluttering of the butterflies' wings. The meadow was a place Dad and I shared. It started when I was seven. Kids were bullying me because of my name. I ran away from the bullies—I don't remember why—and ended up here.

There were no flowers blooming at all. Dad found me in the middle of the night crying in the meadow. He explained to me why I was named 'Piper'. I stopped crying since I knew that my name was very special to my grandpa Tom. He comforted me by talking about the human world and how stars are born. We went home eventually after that. Ever since that day, I kept visiting the meadow.

Connor and Travis traded me their dandelion seed for Dad's leftover rolls. I gave it to them, and planted the seed here. But all plants don't survive storms. It died, of course. And I had to admit that I cried. Hey, I was ten years old. Somebody comforted me that day, and I was able to let go of the flower. Anyway, the meadow was very special to me.

I heard a loud thud, and I snapped up. Leo stood up and we looked around. I thought it was a bear, but it was just a boy lying on the floor. We approached the boy and looked at him. He looked very familiar.

"Nico!" I exclaimed. Leo helped him up and slapped his face to wake him. I seriously just found out that Leo likes slapping people.

"What is wrong with you?" Nico jumped and yelled at Leo.

I sighed. "Get use to it, squirt. There'll be more."

Nico looked at me as if he didn't know I was here all this time. His cheeks became a slight shade of pink and he bent his head down. "Oh, hey, Piper. Long time no see."

"What's with the formality?" I asked, surprised. "We're friends! You can hug me if you want."

"Wh—what?" Nico stammered. His face was beet red now. Leo laughed and squeezed Nico into a big hug. I laughed as well, and Leo let go of him. Nico was glaring and panting at Leo at the same time.

"I swear," Nico stopped so that he could breathe. "On the River Styx I'll give you a trip to the Underworld if you hug me again."

Leo gulped and I snickered. I put my left around Nico's shoulders. "C'mon. Let's surprise our friends."

~0~

We spotted the gang eating breakfast at the pavilion. Jason was there with them, and I had to admit that my heart skipped a bit. Leo was right. Jason looked glum and all, staring at his porridge. It was obvious that he wasn't part of the conversation. We reached them.

"Look who's here, friends!" I announced cheerfully. Jason snapped his head up and his face brightened. He broke into this breathtaking smile that I had to make sure I wasn't staring at him.

Percy stood up from the table. "Nico!" He snatched him away from me and hugged him. I sat down on the table and a bowl of porridge magically appeared right in front of me. Yum.

"How you feeling?" Annabeth asked.

I grinned. "Clear and strong just like pipes!"

We laughed and Annabeth told me to eat my porridge before it gets cold. I did, and I saw Jason looking at me.

"Hey," he said. He smiled a gentle smile and I blushed. Drat. Ever since I said I was in love with Jason, or when I remember it, my heart does some kind of tap dance. I smiled back and continued eating.

"Jason!" a voice screamed. Jason stood up, worried. We saw Thalia stomping her way to us. Her face was red with anger, and her hair was in a messy ponytail. Leo seemed to blush at the sight of Thalia.

When Thalia reached us, she pointed behind her. That's when I noticed that she was with someone. It was a girl with flowing black hair and dark—or gray?—eyes. She was very pretty. The expression on the girl's face was pissed. Her eyes flickered to me and I could've sworn she growled.

"Could you please explain to me why she was able to enter our house while I was dressing up for the Hunters' meeting?" Thalia asked, annoyed. I looked at her and I could see that she was wearing a black shirt and shiny silver parka pants. She was clutching the matching silver parka jacket on her right hand.

Jason's brows creased. "Reyna?"

My heart stopped. Who is this girl? Not that I care or anything. Well, maybe a little. A quarter. A half. Oh, fine! A _lot._

"You promised me we would eat breakfast together," Reyna frowned. I bet you that little witch is lying. Hold up. Don't judge a book by its cover.

Jason sighed. "I told you I had plans today."

Aha! Everybody looked at me. Drat. I accidentally said it aloud. I looked at Annabeth who seemed to understand me. "Aha, Annabeth! I beat you at I Spy this time!" We both laughed a shaky one and they continued on with their feud. _Thank you, _I mouthed Annabeth. She smiled and nodded.

"I don't care if you have plans!" Reyna said, frustrated. "I am your best friend!" Nah, I wasn't convinced.

"They are my best friends, too," Jason snapped. "And how did you get inside?"

"I picked the lock," she murmured.

Thalia and Jason sighed. Judging from her gray eyes, she must be a child of Athena. Or Hephaestus. Smart and technical people can pick locks.

"I'll bring you home," Jason finally said. I don't know why, but I got mad. Why is he bringing this girl home? The girl humiliated you, for crying out loud! Jerk-face Jason. As if somebody heard my plea, Connor and Travis appeared behind Reyna and Thalia.

"Please try our candies!" Connor pleaded, holding out a box full of caramel-colored candies. I think it's a chewy candy.

"They taste so good!" Travis added. "It's sweet and there's chocolate inside!"

That did it. We ran over to Connor and Travis, forming a stampede. Even Reyna got a candy. Shame on her. She doesn't even know them. There was one left and I got it out of the box. I put it in my mouth.

"It tastes so good!" I screamed. The candy was hard on the outside, but when you bite it, chocolate floods into your mouth. It is literally heaven. I swallowed the candy since there was no more left. I walked to our table and drank my water. A few did the same, and when they were done, the twins started laughing. We looked at them, puzzled. Suddenly, I was being pulled. By nobody. The feeling was like magnets. When you put them close to each other, they—_bam!_

My hip hit hard on somebody's hip. I yelped and looked at the person I hit. It was Nico. He looked surprised as well. We tried to pull away from each other, but we couldn't. I looked around us and saw the same thing happen. Percy was stuck to Leo, and Annabeth was stuck to Thalia.

Jason was stuck to Reyna.

I fainted.

Percy and Leo's side (Third Person's POV)

"What the hell happened?" Percy asked. Piper fainted, and they all split up to find ways to get un-glued. Nobody even bothered explanations. Up to now, Connor and Travis were still laughing. Leo grabbed something from his tool bag and threw it at them. It was a smoke ball.

"That oughta make you stop laughing!" Leo yelled.

The twins coughed and choked. When they were done, Percy and Leo threatened them that they will throw another smoke ball if they don't explain. Travis, being the somehow matured one, spoke up.

"We gave you a sticky candy," he said simply.

"And you get stick to the person you are close to for a day," Connor continued.

Percy and Leo opened their mouths.

Leo was on the verge of throwing another smoke ball. "_What?_ Is there a cure?"

"Nope," Travis said. "That's why we kept laughing when the others split up to find a way to get un-glued."

"You know, dude, this is the best trick since the 'Golden Mango'," Connor snickered.

They both burst into laughter.

Percy shrugged. "You both asked for it."

Down came twenty smoke balls.

Annabeth and Thalia's side (Third Person's POV)

"Stupid twins," Thalia muttered. "Now I have to skip the meeting."

Annabeth perked up. "What is the meeting about?"

"Just some tips on how to hunt and aim at a farther distance. And…some confidential things," she sighed. They were on their way to Hermes, since his kids were at fault. Too bad for them, though.

They reached the entrance and kicked the door. A boy emerged from the Converse shoe. He came down and looked irritated at them. But his expression was surprised. Thalia and Annabeth gasped.

"Luke?" Annabeth asked, surprised.

"Coincidence much," Thalia mused. "How's life, Luke?"

Luke snapped back into reality. "Oh…fine. How about you guys?"

"We're fine," Annabeth said. Luke was her childhood friend and first love. _It was a good thing he didn't know_, she thought. "We need to see you're Dad."

"We're stuck to each other!" Thalia smiled, as if this were a good thing. A smile formed the corners of his lips.

"Stuck, eh? Too bad, Bethie and Thals. There's no cure," he leaned at the door and watched as his childhood friends tried to take it in.

"No," Thalia started.

"Way," Annabeth finished.

Jason and Reyna's side (Third Person's POV)

"What are you mourning about?" Reyna asked, pissed.

Jason removed his hands from his face. "She…she's stuck with another boy."

"That _kid?"_ she scoffed. "You're jealous of a _kid?"_

Jason kept quiet. Maybe he was jealous. But then Nico was a kid. An imaginary devil and an angel appeared at his shoulders.

_Angel: Why should you get jealous? Piper kissed you back two weeks ago._

_Devil: She always kisses back! You should get jealous._

_Angel: Nico has no chance, anyway. He's a kid._

_Devil: He is still a boy!_

Devil has a point, Jason thought. Even if Nico's a kid, he grows. He might have a chance with Piper. The thought makes Jason clench his fist.

He stood up. "Let's unstick them. I mean—unstick us!"

**PPOV**

Nico bought me an ice cream to cool me down. We were inside a store in Mount Olympus. The store's name was 'Ken and Gary'. Sound familiar?

Anyway, we were eating silently. I reached into my back pocket of my jeans and pulled out my small pouch. I tossed it to Nico. He caught it mid-air.

"That's my pay," I said.

Nico shook his head. "It's on me."

I raised my eyebrows. "Being a gentleman now? What happened to my good ol' Nico?"

He shrugged and I just chuckled and continued to finish my ice cream.

~0~

We walked to the newly built park just in the center of Mount Olympus. The place was already filled with kids. I glanced at Nico, who was facing the streets, and noticed how tall he was. Nico was two years younger than me and he was about 6'4". We sat down on a bench and watched kids slide and seesaw.

To be honest, we didn't want to look for some kind of thing to unstick us because we already knew that it would last for a day. And maybe because we were both too lazy. The sun was about to set and I yawned. I guess my only problem was how to sleep with Nico stuck to me. Oh, well. I'll just invite the others to a sleepover.

"Let's head back," I suggested. Nico nodded and we stood up from the bench. We walked back to the pavilion to eat dinner. Nico kept staring at me that I was creeped out.

I've had enough of the creepiness. "Why do you keep looking at me, squirt?"

Nico bent down and kissed my lips softly.

Too bad I didn't see Jason and Reyna right in front of us.


	12. Percy And Leo Become Spies

**Jason's POV**

I felt like I've been hit by lightning a hundred times. Well, not that I haven't.

This is what happened.

Reyna and I were headed back to the pavilion to meet up with the gang. We passed by the new park since Reyna insisted. She was a fan of kids. Why? I'm not really sure. As we were walking, I spotted a couple. The boy was tall, and he was wearing all black. The girl, on the other hand, was very beautiful. She had brown hair and eyes that had different colors. I'm not the type to hit on girls with boyfriends. But an instinct told me that they weren't even together. I stopped for a while to make sure. My eyes weren't tricking me for all I know. It was Piper.

She stood up with Nico and walked our way. She didn't actually see us. I walked as well to greet her, when Nico bent down to kiss her.

I stopped dead on my tracks. _What did he just do?_

Piper wasn't mine. That's for sure. But I made myself perfectly clear when I told her I, uh, felt something about her. I focused on something more important.

The brat was kissing my Piper.

My bad. I forgot she wasn't my girlfriend.

Piper seemed to notice me when Nico pulled away from her. We stood there, face to face. Even if Reyna was overprotective of me, she gasped. Piper's eyes were huge. Nico, how do I begin? He just looked at me with no specific emotion. If I were a girl, I would run away in tears. But I'm not a girl. And _I_ don't cry. I just stood there, trying to hide my emotions.

Piper took a step forward, dragging the brat behind. "Jason—"

She flinched and I noticed that Reyna was glaring at her. I decided to speak.

"I don't mind, Piper, really. You can kiss whoever you want," I sounded cold. She looked sad and I regretted saying something mean like that. The way I said it sounded like I was calling Piper a playgirl. I thought she would sit down on the floor and cry like in those soap operas. She didn't move, so I just turned around and decided to pass a different route. I was mad. Reyna seemed to know what I felt, because she laughed. That's what she does when things get serious.

"What a girl," she said.

"It's not her fault!" I snapped.

Reyna looked furious. "If you love her, don't just stand there and give up! You're a weakling, Jason. You think you're all mighty just because you can fly and summon lightning? Well, here's what I think. You're nothing but show!"

Don't worry, dear people who are watching us argue. I'm used to her shouting and scolding me. But this time, I knew she was right. I am nothing without my godly powers. I'm all show. Without my powers, I'm weak.

I sighed. "I have to admit for once that you're r—"

"JASON, YOU JERK!"

I looked behind and saw Piper charging towards us. If I didn't feel this sad, I would've laughed at the sight. Piper kept running to me, not minding the poor Nico who was being dragged mercilessly through the rocky floor. I started running away from her. I was horrified.

"JASON, DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY FROM ME!" she yelled. I ran faster away from her and I felt something rip apart. I thought it was my pants, but it was actually just me and Reyna being torn apart. I laughed and ran faster away from Piper. Reyna? Don't mind her. She's the one who pushed me to run away. I guess Piper terrified her.

_Ri—ip!_

I didn't have to look behind to know that Piper and Nico were already separated. Piper's footsteps became louder and faster that I knew she was dashing to me. I slowed down a bit because I got tired. Wrong move, Jason. Piper pushed me and we both fell to the floor. My face was facing the floor while she was on top of me. I was surprised that she didn't yell at me anymore. In fact, everything was quiet. I peeked in front of me and noticed that we were in an alley. Everything went silent.

That was until I heard sobs.

Surprised, I turned around to look at Piper. She looked mad. But, of course, the tears gave away. Her face was flushed and she grunted in embarrassment. I wasn't the emotional type, so I smiled gently and wiped away her tears with my hand.

"What's the matter, girly-girl?"

She looked confused. "Don't call me that. I hate it."

"I'm not convinced," I pointed out.

"Can I just get to the stinking point?" she groaned. I nodded.

"I hate it when you're with another girl. I hate it when you're not with me all the time. I hate it when it's not you I'm kissing—in my defense, I got used to you doing that—and I most definitely hate you!" she cried again. "It doesn't feel right kissing somebody else other than you. It—it's definitely not right!"

You may think that I would make fun of her or smirk like I always do, but what she said made my heart beat rapidly. I covered my face with my free hand so that she wouldn't see me blushing red. Yes, I said it! I'm blushing!

I asked a stupid question. "Why?"

"I won't tell you," she said softly. "Not until I hear it from somebody else first."

I didn't know what she meant, so I just nodded so I wouldn't look stupid. "I see."

Piper stood up and helped me get up from the floor. Reyna and Nico were nowhere to be found, so we just walked together to the pavilion. It was already nighttime, and we were both hungry. When they saw us walking to them, they all gasped.

"How were you able to unstick?" Percy asked in disbelief.

I looked around and noted that he was right. Everybody was still stuck to each other. Well, except for Piper, Reyna, Nico, and me. Speaking of Reyna, she wasn't here. Maybe she went back home. I sat down beside Leo.

"I don't really know," I said, not paying attention to them. I was watching a plate of beef stew appear out of nowhere. "We just suddenly did."

"Not cool," Thalia pouted.

When we finished our meals, Piper stood up from the table and smiled. How could she look so normal? "I have an idea! Let's have a sleepover at my house!"

Everybody agreed—including me—and we all went back to our homes to get our pajamas. I just grabbed a white shirt and navy blue pajama pants. Thalia went ahead of me with Annabeth. I walked to Piper's house and she let me in. They were all there, fixing the provided sleeping bags, all in their pajamas. I dressed up as well and helped the others fix Piper's humongous room. She left the room, and being the caring type, I followed her. She headed to the kitchen not knowing that I was following her. I smirked. There were trays of chips and sodas on top of a tray. Wow, I didn't know that we were that many. She reached for a tray, but I got it first. Piper jumped when our skins touched.

"Whoa! I didn't know you followed me here!" she exclaimed.

"How do you do that?" I murmured. She raised her eyebrows at me. "I mean, you're acting as if nothing happened."

She smiled and I gasped. I have got to get used to that beautiful smile. "My father is an actor."

"You're doing it again!" I yelled.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Stop acting like you're fine when you're not! That's what you do, right? When you're sad?" I retorted.

Piper looked pissed. "What do _you_ know about being sad? You're not the one that's heartbroken."

Oh. Somehow it feels like a slap in the face.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to serve these," she snapped. She was about to leave, but I grabbed her wrist and hugged her tight. The tray Piper was holding dropped to the floor. Ugh. I'll have to clean that first. I was about to pull away, when she hugged me tighter and wrapped her arms around my neck. It was weird. Weird, because I should have found it awkward. Weird, because I was also happy. I put my arms around her waist and hugged her back. It was quiet. Neither of us wanted to pull away. I could hear our heartbeats and heavy breathing. I thought I could hear the Muses singing.

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go_

_I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home_

_I'll spend forever wondering if you knew_

_I was enchanted to meet you_

Piper pulled away first. I was kinda disappointed. "Do you hear that?"

"Well…" I listened carefully. "Yeah." I said, shocked.

_The lingering question kept me up_

_2 am, who do you love?_

_I wonder till I'm wide-awake_

_Now I'm pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door_

_I'd open up and you would say,_

_It was enchanting to meet you_

_All I know was I was enchanted to meet you_

"Enchanted," Piper finally said. "By…Taylor Swift."

Now I seriously don't know why it's such a big deal because Piper blushed. She walked to the dining room and I followed her. There was an IPod connected to speakers. Piper snatched it away from the speakers and stared at the IPod.

She sighed. "Seriously, Percy? Seriously?"

Percy emerged from under the dining table, followed by Leo. They burst into laughter. I blushed as I shook my head in disapproval.

"J-man!" Leo high-fived me. I ignored it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to remove the irritation in my voice.

Percy got his IPod from Piper. "We're playing Truth or Dare. We looked for you guys, and when we saw you being so cozy in the kitchen, Leo and I had a plan of our own."

Piper rolled her eyes. "C'mon. Don't want to miss our favorite game, do we?"

~0~

So far, the bottle hasn't pointed at me yet.

They all did crazy dares. Clean up the dishes, run around Piper's backyard while singing 'Fireworks', spying on Connor and Travis as they were shaving, etc. It was Percy's turn to spin the bottle, and I was sure the odds were in my favor. And I was right. Leo hooted as it landed on me that I had to stuff his big and noisy mouth with popcorn.

"Truth of Dare?" Percy asked excitedly.

I thought about it. Truth was really boring. "Dare," I decided.

Percy and Leo exchanged glances and snickered. The two of them gestured me to follow them to the corner of Piper's room to tell me my dare. I prayed to my Dad.

"You," Leo pointed at me.

"Have to sound as convincing as possible," Percy continued.

I nodded at them to tell me what I should say. They whispered it into my ear and I blushed.

"No way!" I stammered.

Leo snorted. "I guess we have no choice but to have you run around Mount Olympus naked."

"Fine. I'll do it," I sighed.

Percy and Leo told me to go to Piper and say what's on my heart. Sounds girly, I know. But the problem I was dealing with was the fact that I didn't know what was in my heart. Maybe I should just tell Piper that I like the color blue.

I walked to her while thinking of what to say. _The truth, _Percy's words echoed in my mind. The truth. I think those two have found it already.

When I reached Piper, I held up her hand and faced her. When I saw her face, I was reminded of the first day I saw her. Not when I bumped into her. The first time was when I was seven. It was like love at first sight, you know. But I dismissed those thoughts when I was kid. Obviously, it didn't work. When I bumped into her a month ago, I had the courage to finally talk to her. I guess you could say I was shy.

"Piper," I said.

She nodded. "Jason."

The truth. I felt confident and shy at the same time. Everybody looked impatient, so I just took a deep breath and said it out loud.

"I love you."

It may be a dare, but everyone knew it was real.

Including Piper.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Heyyy. =)) Whadayya think? :)**

**Read and review, please! :)**


	13. I Have A Third Eye

**PPOV**

_I love you._

It was just a dare, but those three words echoed restlessly in my mind as I tried to sleep. For crying out loud! You have no idea what it feels like to be probably confessed to by your crush and at the same time having your sleeping bed laid beside his. Not to mention he was awake as well. It was already 2 am in the morning, and I could distinguish Leo's snores from Percy's. Dad was on a business trip—oh, no! I wasn't throwing a slumber party without his permission. In fact, _he_ thought about it. Only there was something wrong. He said a 'Girls Night Out.'

Boy am I a rule-breaker.

It wasn't _exactly_ my idea. Mom was in on it too. She forced—no, _blackmailed_—me to invite Jason and the boys. The consequence? She wanted to do the honors of telling Jason my feelings. And lock me in that horrible abandoned shop for a week while feeding me beef and meat and pork. Believe me, I almost agreed to that consequence. Almost.

I pulled my blanket over my face to cover it. What Jason said still echoed in my stinkin' head that I would prefer to have a Last Song Syndrome on 'Friday' by Rebecca Black. The song wasn't actually _that _bad. It was just too catchy and repetitive. I tried my stupid plan.

_Yesterday was Thursday, _I thought._ Today it is Friday—_

_I love you._

That wasn't part of the lyrics. _We, we, we, so excited. We so excited. We're gonna have a ball today._

_I love you._

_Tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday, comes afterwards. I don't want the weekend to end._

_I love you._

Gah! Is it my fault I don't know the dude's rap? Skip, Piper, skip!

_It's Friday!_

"Piper?"

"FRIDAY! GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY!" I squealed.

I quickly removed the blanket away from my face and sat up to check if I had woken anyone up. Nobody was, so I just sighed a sigh of relief and wiped the bead of sweat that trickled down my face. Tonight's weather was warm. _Real _warm. Before I could lay my back against my sleeping bed, a voice interrupted.

"I actually thought that you had a nightmare about Rebecca Black."

The voice was pretty much obvious. Jason sat up as well and turned to face me. "What?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Don't bother telling me if you have nightmares. I had a dream once, and it wasn't pretty."

"You had a dream about her?" I said, shocked.

"Yup," he chuckled. "The first time the song was released."

We laughed and started chattering about random things that I lost track of time. Seriously!

I yawned and stretched my arms and finally lay down on my sleeping bed. Jason stared at me from above and started twisting my hair. You could say that I blushed, but hey, it was for a cause.

"Piper," he said softly.

A yawn accidentally escaped my lips. "Yeah?"

His face was beet red and his breathing was uneven. "Are you, I mean, do you, uh…" he stuttered. "Do you have…plans…tomorrow evening?"

"No. Why?"

Now if Jason was already blushing _real_ red, imagine him now. He actually looked like a tomato.

A gorgeous tomato.

Snap out, sister.

"I was wondering if you would like to go out with me. You know, just the two of us," he continued.

"Go out. With you. Just the two of us…" I trailed off. What in the Hades was happening? Then again I could always use movies as references. What happens in the movies?

Then it hit me.

Holy crow.

He was asking me out on a date.

Jason wants to go on a date with _me_.

I blushed. "Ohhhh."

He was still blushing. "Yeah."

Awkward silence.

"Sure," I finally decided.

"What?"

"I, Piper—daughter of Aphrodite—accept the invitation of Jason—son of Zeus—" Jason winced. "To go on a date when the sun sets on the morrow until 9 pm."

"9 pm? But I didn't give you the details and the time yet," he said.

"Yes," I agreed. "But Dad did."

~0~

Evening was a tad too long.

Right after my slumber party, Jason and Thalia left immediately to attend to some 'family business'. I mean like when I woke up, they weren't there. In fact, _everybody _left me in my own room snuggled up in my blanket. Turns out they wanted to watch a baseball game. And it started at 5 am. Not eleven.

Anyway, I was already prepared for my d-d-_date _with Jason. Like shower prepared. I stood in front of my enormous walk-in-closet looking for something good to wear. I know, I know. Piper is starting to care about her looks! But that's only for today. And probably for future dates.

The problem about my clothes was that even if I have _a lot, _nothing seems to look decent enough for me. I tried a few, including those revealing ones that Mom chose that could pass as lingerie, and I couldn't stand five seconds of myself in it. Then there was the shirt and jeans. Of course, I'd like to look presentable. But wearing just shirt and jeans didn't seem appropriate for a 'somehow formal' d-d-_date._ I could only think of one thing that could me right now.

I grabbed my cellphone from my desk and started dialing the number I never thought I'd ever use. I waited nervously as the other line was ringing. On the seventh ring, the owner finally picked the phone up.

"What?" she asked irritatingly. Believe me, I understand her.

I took a deep breath and braced myself for whatever danger lay ahead. "I need your help."

"I believe there's what people call _magic words_," she replied.

"Please, Drew."

~0~

"Ugh. _Definitely _not that. You look like an old maid!"

"Thanks for your words of encouragement. Really appreciate it," I grumbled.

Drew shrugged and threw another set of clothing at my direction. It landed right in my arms, and I heard the clerk woman sigh in frustration as Drew rummaged through the racks of Chanel's new arrivals. Her head snapped at my direction. "What are you waiting for? _Get in, _Polar."

"It's Piper," I muttered as I entered the ladies' dressing room. This time, Drew set out an elegant white dress with black swirls sewn on its white canvas. It was very beautiful, just like the other dresses she disagreed on, but they didn't seem to get along with me. When I wore the dress, I looked like a kid. Not just any other kid. A kid from those old black and white movies. I sighed and stepped out of the dressing room waiting for Drew's opinion.

She squinted her eyes. "Hmm. Nah! Too kiddie. Oh, and dress up already. We're going to a different store." She looked at the clerk woman. "Are you _sure _these are new? Because they don't to me."

The clerk pursed her lips. "I'm very sure."

Drew huffed and I entered the dressing room again to change back. When we exited the store, I mouthed a "Sorry 'bout a while ago," to the clerk. She nodded, and Drew and I continued looking for new clothes.

"I don't know why," Drew began. "But you just look like Dumpster Girl in all those dresses. I think it's because you don't have a nice figure."

What? I'm not too fat nor am I too thin. I may not have too much curves like those other girls, but I think I'm okay. I ignored her understatement.

"Or maybe it could be your hair. It still looks like a dead badger even if it its long."

"I didn't give you my scarf just so you could insult _me._ But that doesn't mean you can insult those works of art. Just say your opinion," I said simply.

She huffed. "Wanna know _my _opinion? They're not works of art."

Drew turned around the corner and entered a store without a name. I hesitated at first before I followed her because the gray wallpaper was peeling off, and I was pretty sure that this store was not a part of this mall. We entered it, and I was surprised to see the inside of the abandoned shop.

"Why are we here?" I demanded. Drew sighed as if it weren't obvious.

"I'm explaining this to you because you're the only child of Mom who doesn't know this," she sighed again. "The abandoned shop is where dream clothes of famous designers go to. They haven't been released yet. The clothes that go here are the ones made by the designer _in their heads_. So Olympus is always the first to get the latest."

"Wow," I said in awe.

She pulled a red cocktail dress from the 'Jenny Packham' rack. It was _gorgeous. _In fact, it was the dress Emma Watson wore in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1' movie. The dress she wore when Fleur and Ron's older brother got married. Drew tossed it to me and said, "You don't have to try it on. All the dresses here match anyone. They've got magic."

I smiled a bit. "Thanks, Drew. For everything."

"Don't mention it." I started to smile even wider. "Seriously, Dumpster Girl. _Don't._"

~0~

I waited for Jason at the public bench. The sun was setting, and I badly wished that Jason were here right now to watch it with me. I wore the dress Drew picked out with a small Ruby necklace and a half-inch black-heeled shoe. Annabeth had the honors of curling my hair and putting some light make-up. It was _light, _so I had no problems with that. I sat down patiently and waited for my d-d-_date. _I have seriously got to get used to that word.

It was six in the evening, and he wasn't here yet. I wasn't the type to just sit down and relax, so I finally slept after minutes of mental debates about my decision. When I woke up, I was lying down on the public bench, the cold wind brushing against my skin, and he wasn't here yet. The Time Square Clock ticked nine. I was now beyond enraged. How dare he stood me up? I got up from the bench and started hunting.

The only problem for me now: I didn't know his address. Thalia was with the Hunters, and even if I could Iris message her, there's no rainbow tonight. I mean of course there wouldn't be rainbows at night! Well anyway, I'll just have to do it old-style. Ask people if they've seen the jerk.

I went to the open field; none of the people I knew were there.

I went to the riverside; still none.

I dialed Annabeth; her dad answered, said Annabeth was attending a conference and left her phone to avoid distractions.

I dialed Percy; the walrus was sleeping.

I grunted as my shoes scored another blister on my foot. I took them off, and flung it away. Don't worry. They'll come back through Mom's handmaidens. The last place I could think of was the meadow. Leo was there when I arrived, playing checkers with an automaton that looked like Thalia.

"You realize how creepy you look with that obsession of yours?" I asked a bit disgusted.

He yawned. "I had spare tools. And you look rather fancy tonight. What happened? Wait. Let me guess. There was an all-you-can eat contest. And you have to look dashing in order to win. So the question is: Did you save me some tacos?"

"There was no contest, Leo," I replied. It was obvious that I was already tired. He looked at me in the eye. "How about the tacos?"

"There are no tacos," I groaned. I sighed and slumped back beside Leo. He softened a bit when he noticed that I was tired.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Jason stood me up," I said glumly.

"What?"

"He asked me out on a date last night, and he left me waiting for him for three hours. I just wanted to ask you if you've seen him today. Or a while ago."

Leo's expression was shocked. "Piper," he said. "Who's Jason?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I am VERY sorry for the late update. I've been out of the country, and there was definitely no internet there. But I have good and bad news. Let's start with the good one first.**

**Good: The story is not close to ending! In fact, this is actually the part where the conflicts start. Where their love shall be tested, where - I should stop spoiling. But anyway, I guarantee you that there would be lots of Jasper and Anti-Jasper - um, never mind.**

**Bad: I'm not quite sure about the fast updates anymore. Schools coming, and I want to keep my grades high. So I will probably update once a week if I'm lucky. If not, then maybe once in two weeks.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! :) Don't forget to review. :)**


	14. The Star Has A Good Sense for Books

**PPOV**

I stared blankly at my best friend.

"Leo," I laughed. "Good one. You had me there for a second. Anyway, be serious. Have you seen him?"

"Who. Is. Jason!" he exasperated.

"That's it. We're over, Leo. Say goodbye to your friend since birth."

Leo immediately stood up when he felt me move even the slightest bit. He held my wrist, pulled me to sit beside him, and said, "I honestly don't know who this Jason guy is, but I won't let him break our friendship."

"Then tell the truth," I insisted.

"I _am_!"

Since I knew Leo even before I learned how to speak, I had to admit that I believed him. I knew him when he lied or even attempted to steal my Dad's fancy food. But of course, I had to make sure.

"You really don't remember him?" I asked, clinging to the tiniest hope I could think or find. Leo was still frustrated.

"I don't _know _him. I'm not even sure if he actually _exists._"

"You sure?" I asked, trying to remove the quiver in my voice. "I'm sure you can breeze through your sturdy mind and remember him. You know, Jason, the brother of Thalia? Jason, our best friend? Jason, with a feisty friend named Reyna? Jason, the one we went to an errand for Uncle Hermes with?"

"That's funny," Leo said. "I thought we did that with George."

"Who is _George_?"

"The dude with red hair and brown eyes," he said.

My eyes narrowed. "Oh? Does he have a twin?"

"George? Heck, yeah, he does! His name is Fred!"

"Look," I said, frustrated that I played along. "I don't wanna talk about George _or _Fred - but he dies, by the way - and the last thing I need to know is that I asked a ghost out."

"But I'm telling the truth," he insisted. "I don't know who Jason is. More or less, I don't think he's even..._real_."

I couldn't respond. I mean, what should I say? If I continued pestering Leo that Jason was real, we'd end up in circles. I admit that I almost believed in what Leo said. Almost.

The minute I opened my mouth, a loud horn blew. I checked to see where it came from, but I couldn't find the source. Leo's face turned chalky white, and his mouth was wide open. Puzzled, I looked at him.

"Leo?"

He pointed towards the sky.

And there it was. A large, wooden boat was soaring above the clouds. Quite frankly it creeped me out. The words, '_Princess Andromeda' _were etched on the sides. Before my mind could completely register what in the world was happening, a ladder made of ropes emerged from the boat and fell down so that it was now in front of me and Leo.

I staggered a few steps behind. No way was I getting into a whole lot of trouble. I've had enough for a lifetime.

Leo moved forward and stared at it closely. My hands immediately jerked to his shoulders to pull him away, when a girly, yet very ugly scream, filled the whole place. A stout, old man in a small and tight black shirt jumped down. I looked at him in disbelief. Not only did he have an ugly scream, but he was pretty ugly himself.

"Ahoy, ye mates!" said he. "Am Captain Ginnywiggles' sidekick, Smithers!"

Me and my best friend continued gaping.

The man named Smithers continued. "In need of recruits, don't ya see? Young people are good for the job!" When he says 'are' it sounds like 'aaaarrghhhhh.' I thought those expressions pirates had were just made up.

Oh, I have a joke! Why did the parents not allow their children to watch pirated movies?

Because it was rated 'aaaarrghhhhh'!

Anyway, I said, "Sorry, mister Smithers. We're not cut out for the job. Besides, we're not interested."

"Yer not," he said. He then looked at Leo. "But he is."

"Him? No, I'm very sure he won't go."

"Won't you, boy?" Smithers asked, smiling while raising his eyebrows. He had a number of missing teeth.

Leo kept quiet, observing the weird fellow.

"Yer gonna come. The boys always do," Smithers said.

"He won't," I snapped.

Smithers was like a broken record. "The boy's gonna come! The boy's gonna come! I'll board you up!"

"C'mon, Leo. We're leaving."

"The boy's gonna come!"

"Shut it!"

"The boy's gonna come! The boy's gonna come!"

"Fine."

I literally snapped. "Didn't you hear him, Smithers? Leo, we're going!"

Leo looked at me as if I was crazy. "I told him I'm coming."

"You didn't."

"I did."

It took me awhile to process this information. "Shut. Up."

Smithers cackled. He took hold of Leo's arm and tugged at him, pushing him forward as if to urge him to climb up the boat. I grabbed Leo's other arm and pulled him away from the old geezer. It was a useless fight of tug-o-war considering the fact that Smithers was actually the same weight as that of two fat men.

I thought I was going to win, when Leo shoved his arm away from me. I stood agape. "Leo...?"

"Let me go! You think I'm no good, don't you?" he growled.

"What? No - "

"Just let me!" he said. He walked away from me and towards the rope ladder. He began to climb.

Smithers followed behind. I watched - still in shock - as they almost reached the top. Leo boarded the boat, and for the first time in years, I saw that determined look on his face. I've never seen him so...happy.

"No use in stopping him," I muttered. "I obviously can't let him go unprotected."

With one last look at my surroundings, I grabbed the ladder and climbed as well

~0~

I thought the interior of the boot would be shabby. But apparently, the joke was on me. There were numerous rooms: dining area, basketball court, plenty of guest rooms, arcades, etc. What made each room special? Well, the dining room's floor, high ceilings, and walls were carpeted red, it was a long room with a long table, and there was a grande chandelier hanging above.

Not convinced?

How about all of the guest rooms resembling a five-star suite?

I practically cried at its magnificence. It was a good thing I followed Leo here. Totally worth my time. Leo ignored my tears of joy and walked past me to examine the room closely. He looked close to tears as well.

"Work starts on the morrow," a voice interrupted. It was Smithers. He was grinning at us, probably thinking, _First time these kids have seen somethin' fancy_. "But yer supposed teh wear 'em - yer uniforms - now."

"Uniforms?" I asked, getting the copy of Wuthering Heights from the bookshelf.

Smithers nodded. "It's in each of yer closets."

I watched as Leo opened it and inserted his hand inside. From my peripheral view, Smithers left the room. Leo then produced from the wardrobe a baggy, blue and white striped shirt with puffed sleeves. It came with a matching black pirate hat.

"I may not be a fashion expert," he said, crinkling his nose. "But this is something no one would dare be caught in."

"I don't know. It looks pretty cute."

Leo tossed the uniform to me and said, "Go change. I'll be in my _suite_."

With that, he left the room. I immediately stood up and stripped off the red dress. I felt sticky, so I decided to take a shower instead. Bubble bath, I mean. After my heavenly shower I changed to my uniform. Lucky there were packs of new underwear and jeans. The shoes, though, were long, pointed boots.

Flipping the first few pages of Wuthering Heights, I flopped down on the couch and began to read. It was no use. I couldn't stop thinking of what became of Jason. It's just weird. He was with me yesterday. What in the world was happening?

My eyelids were about to close in exhaustion, when the stars in the night sky told me not to. I rushed over to the big window and looked outside. They were beautiful. I continued admiring the scenery, forgetting all of my troubles. I forgot about being tired, I forgot the page I was in in Wuthering Heights, I forgot about the slight jealousy I had with Drew being able to charm speak, and I even forgot about Jason.

Karma be damned.

But everything didn't last long. Just as I was to retreat from the window, a star bursted. I mean, like, _really _bursted. The blinding light seared through the windows that I had to cover my eyes. When it was all over, I looked at the star again and noticed it still somehow bursting. Its light was formed like a spotlight. I followed the direction, and spotted what it was pointing at: the bookshelf.

Cautiously, I walked towards it. The spotlight was very clear. It was directed at a very thick, old book with the title 'Rome.' As if in some action movie, my arms jerked forward and snatched the book. The pages were brown because of its old age. I scanned a few facts, but a part caught my attention.

"'_Roman Mythology_,'" was the headline. I began to read out loud. "'_Traditional stories that pertain to ancient Rome's legendary origins. Roman religion was greatly influenced by the Grecian religion. Romans were eager to reinterpret the Greek deities into their own counterparts.'"_

I skipped a few more texts. My eyes continued scrolling down until another grabbed my attention. "'_Ceres, the goddess of agriculture' - _oh, just like aunt Demeter! - '_Mars, the god of war.' _Definitely Ares." More scrolling. "'_Juno, the goddess of family. Neptune, the god of the sea.'_"

"_'Jupiter, the king of the gods and of the sky._'"

I definitely squealed. "It's just like my dear aunts and uncles! How accurate!"

Tired from all the information and whatnot, I put the book back, lay down on my comfy bed, and slept.

~0~

One would think the first job of a pirate was to force people down the plank or cut their hands off and live life with a hook. But no. It was much, much, worse.

We had to mop the floor while singing.

My bucket of soiled water splashed as the mop dived in. I removed it and continued mopping. Instead of singing, I committed myself to dancing Teach Me How To Dougie. It actually helped in pumping up the mood because soon enough, the others started dancing.

The sky was a perfect blue. Cumulus clouds were everywhere, and, despite the sunny sun, it was really windy. Once in a while I would glance down to check where we were, but all I could see was a landscape of green. We weren't too high up, but we were still in Olympus.

Leo nudged me. "Homesick?"

I nodded sheepishly.

"You shouldn't have followed me. You should have let me go."

"And leave you with all these people who might be crazy?" I asked, looking at him incredulously. "Leo, they could have chopped off your head last night and have eaten it if I didn't follow."

"That's just gross," he cringed.

"It could have happened."

Not much was said afterwards. We idly looked at our surroundings, thinking of random things that could pop in our heads. But apparently the only thing popping into this head of mine was Jason.

Where was he? Was he safe? Was there something wrong? Did some pirates chop his head off and eat it? Goodness, it _did _sound gross.

Just then I noticed someone very familiar from below. I peered closer and noticed the very pretty girl with black hair and dark or gray eyes. Reyna. It might be weird, but given the situation, I felt like I've seen an actual human being. I waved my arms and yelled, "Reyna! Reyna! Over here!"

She stopped walking and looked around her. Finding no source, she continued. I groaned in frustration. Leo, who was watching me, tapped my shoulders and pointed at a bundle of ropes just on the ledge of the boat-craft. It was the rope ladder.

I unhooked it and let go. The ladder dropped to the ground just in front of Reyna. She jumped in surprise and stepped back, the same way I did when I saw the ladder for the first time. Yup, she was definitely the only actual human being I've seen in a day. With no time to lose, I climbed down.

When I reached the bottom, Reyna kept staring at me. I gave her a grin, but all I ever got in return was an eyebrow raised. That's when I noticed that her eyes were bloodshot. I could tell she just cried.

"Reyna! I'm so glad to see you. I need to ask you something," I said.

She looked like she was glaring at me.

"Have you seen Jason?" I asked, looking for hope once more.

"Jason?" she asked, her features softening. "Well...no," she managed to choke out. "Haven't seen him the whole day yesterday or today." Reyna stopped and studied me. After a few minutes, she asked, "You noticed it?"

I nodded stiffly.

Reyna began to lose it. "I-I don't know what happened. We were just together. And when I looked for him yesterday, he-he was nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere. Thalia was away, too, and Iris message didn't work. He - Jason...was...gone."

"Same here," I was on the verge of crying. "That's why I, no, _we _need your help."

She waited.

"Come with me and let's find him." It was a decision I made early this morning. I was going to find him no matter what it takes. "I feel that something terrible has happened. I feel that he needs our help, too," Okay, I sounded crazy.

Reyna was deep in thought. Her dark or gray eyes looked as if she were thinking of different things at the same time, the same look Annabeth always had. She took a deep breath and stared at me once more. "Yes. I think the same way. I'll come with you."

When she agreed, all the pain I've been holding was subtracted by a little. It's good to have someone understand me.

"Thank you. Very much," I smiled a little.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go," she replied. Determination was all over her face. I didn't need to tell her that I was now a pirate. She took hold of the ladder and began climbing.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'VE FINALLY UPDATED. WOOT WOOT.**

**I'm super duper sorry for letting you wait for, what, 3 or 4 months? I understand what you feel! But school's so hectic and all and I had writer's block before. Not now, don't worry.**

**So I may have put the part where Piper said she was jealous of Drew being able to charm speak. Well, to not make you confused, in my story Piper doesn't know she has godly powers. It's weird, but that's part of the plot. Her lack of knowledge about her powers and stuff play a vital role here.**

**Oh, and thank you so much to those who made 'My Abnormal Life' as their favorites. And I've received so many reviews about me updating or else they'll die or something. Well, I updated, so don't do anything to yourselves. But thank you so much for showing that you like this! It means a lot to me. :)**

**REVIEW. THAT'S ALL I EVER ASK.**


	15. After A Billion Years

**PPOV**

A loud clanking sound reverberated throughout the ship's musty little kitchen - and when I meant kitchen, I meant something as close to a vile creature's anus, as the place I was currently in gave off an immensely putrid smell. The room was barely even enough to enclose the wooden cupboards that lined the walls as well as the cleaning tools tossed on the corner; not to mention me and Leo and Reyna. From time to time the ship would rock due to the sea's current, and my butt landing on the dusty floorboards was an act predicted within half a second the aforementioned event would occur.

It was unfortunate that while every room of the _Princess Andromeda _was as luxurious and grandiose as any five-star hotel, the area that catered the nutrients each member would consume was miserable.

Hence the fact that I'd rarely eat. I wasn't Narcissus, but I was pretty sure that I'd gotten thinner than before. The puffy sleeves of the lovely uniform (do take note of the sarcasm) clung hopelessly to my arms, and my jeans had obviously gotten loose. My hair was longer than the original longness: I was still very much tempted to chop it off. The weather was abominably hot, therefore the only solution to relieve me of that pain was to remove the factor contributing to that heat.

The first time I attempted to imitate Britney Spears, it had been three days prior our arrival at the _Princess Andromeda_. I had been sweeping the main deck under the scorching sun, my whole body understanding that I would eventually melt into a big puddle of human flesh. Leo had passed out the minute he had stepped out into the wilderness. Katoptris had been in my pocket.

I couldn't exactly remember what happened next, but Reyna was able to witness it; she had just woke up that time, and she said that I looked like a possessed badger.

"What the _hell_," Reyna said. I snapped, focusing on her. Nearly a week on this ship and one couldn't deny how much Reyna had changed, too. Her black hair had gone lanky, and the cool dark eyes I had been accustomed to was now big and wild. "This . . . this . . . I can't - _Gods_, what the _hell_."

Apparently the clanking sound mentioned in the first paragraph (my narration was quite long, so I feel the need to remind you) had come from her broom. She had thrown it harshly in front of her. "What are we doing here!" she screamed hysterically. She thrusted a hand to her forehead and slumped back on a wall.

"It's . . . it's been _months _- "

"Five days," I corrected immediately.

" - and we're doing _nothing_." Her eyes flew to me, her expression wild and psychotic and, frankly, horrifying. "Fuck. Who knows what could have happened to Jason by now?"

"Do you mind finishing your share of work?" Leo snapped. "So that, you know, maybe we could actually spend our extra time _looking _for clues to finding this guy the both of you are so obsessed about?"

Under normal circumstances I would have gotten irritated at Leo for being such a girl, but even I couldn't _not _understand his sassiness. Reyna and I were just extra baggage; Leo had been the one Smithers asked for. I had only followed out of what mortals call instinct as well as the underestimation of my friend's capabilities. Leo wasn't supposed to be bothered by Jason's disappearance - he couldn't even remember him. And that plus the fact that Reyna and I kept talking about plans of escaping was driving him crazy.

Still, we all changed. I rarely saw his admirable innocence anymore; whatever I saw in him right now was something I couldn't exactly point out.

"This place is already spotless," I said calmly. The kitchen was clean, but the stench couldn't be driven away, so what could we possibly do about that? I hardly doubt a crate full of Lysol would cut it.

As if reading my mind, Leo said, "Of course, you're giving up. You were always that way, Piper." He had said it in a leveled voice, with his eyes meeting mine, unwavering._  
><em>

Something in me twitched. I met his gaze with the same hardness.

"I thought you wanted to leave early?" I retorted. "Well, we've finished our work here. Let's go."

I crossed the kitchen, which was actually strange, since the room was small, and so it only took me two steps to reach the other side - to the place where the sink was. I twisted the metal knob, and a blob of something_ yellow _poured out of the pipe before water streamed out. It took all of my restraint to not turn into a possessed badger again.

I washed my hands, my fingers wiggling around in annoyance. There was tension sizzling throughout the place, too thick for us to not pay attention to, and we couldn't notice anything else until Reyna loudly said, "Hey, your watch!" and I immediately pulled my hands back from the sink. I was in post-delusional mode from the yellow substance I had seen, so the way I recoiled in alarm must have resembled Gollum.

Leo cursed first. "What now?" he growled in Reyna's direction.

Luckily, Reyna wasn't completely lost to the dark side or what is known as her having a questionable mental conduct, so she glared at him in response, as if_ he_ had been the one who was careless just a few moments ago. "Her watch could have gotten broken, as she didn't remove it before washing. Everyone knows clockwork malfunctions when in contact with water, unless it's waterproof, which I hardly doubt given that it's beginning to rust."

I still didn't know who her parent was.

Leo's eyes flitted to my wrist, where they speculated mechanically. The petulant expression on his face slowly shifted into careful interest.

"Well," he began slowly, "that's a rather nice wristwatch. I mean, rust is forming, but the windings are pretty good."

"You made it for me," I said, carefully.

His eyebrows shot up. "Yeah?"

Ever since we'd been on the _Princess Andromeda_, I had felt the duty to tell Leo whatever he should know. It was true that he couldn't readily accept what I would be telling him - and it was a really tedious task to execute to a doubting sixteen-year-old - but nonetheless he tried to absorb the information. It seemed appropriate to be feeding him the facts slowly, otherwise he'd be acting like he was on PMS.

"Uh huh," I agreed. Reyna was watching the psychological process quietly.

"That explains the swell handiwork, then."

Apparently there were some information that Leo could easily accept.

~0~

"Aren't we going to grab books?" I demanded. We were moving at a fast pace through the gargantuan library. Tall and hundreds of bookshelves were arranged in an intricate pattern, and they weren't even consistent, so there was that probability where we could have gotten lost for decades. The library had approximately three floors: the heart of the library held all the study tables, and it was what we used as our meeting place, as from that spot one could see the antique railings of the remaining floors.

We entered one of the library's sections and were immediately surrounded by darkness. As I've mentioned, the shelves were tall, so it loomed over us until any source of light was diminished. However, there were candelabras hanging on the russet, regal walls, serving as our guide.

Reyna abruptly stopped. She turned to face me, her features as if in a Chiaroscuro technique. "We don't need them," she said in a tone that gave away nothing.

"Well, then, why are we here in the first place?" I raised an eyebrow, very much irritated. Just because she was Jason's childhood friend didn't mean I - Leo, too - didn't deserve to know her ideas.

She ignored my question. "Can you remember the last time you've seen Jason?"

"Yes." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Reyna turned around again and began walking through many bookshelves. Leo and I struggled to catch up. We kept turning around corners, entering, walking ahead, and then turning again. The library's scent - old papers and a hint of pepper mint - whipped around us as we moved quickly. Reyna's eyes never left the bookshelves as she passed by them; she read every single spine, considering that there were lots of levels on the shelves.

"What were you guys doing?" Reyna's eyes flitted to mine, and then back to the shelves.

I was panting. "Sleepover. We had a sleepover."

At the mention of the last word I'd said, Reyna's nose crinkled. She definitely wasn't fond of the idea of slumber parties.

We continued through the vast library. Leo didn't seem bothered by the pace; in fact, his eyebrows were furrowed.

"And what did you do during the sleepover?"

I was beyond baffled and outraged. "I don't see how this can - "

"_What did you do during the sleepover_?" Reyna whipped around so fast I staggered back and tripped on the carpeted floor. I managed to regain my previous composure, and gave her a full-on glare.

"Ate. Played stupid games. Slept." I gritted my teeth. She was more impossible than Drew, and I didn't even think that was possible. It seemed petty to get angry at Reyna for thinking that I must have messed up before this whole conspiracy happened, but I couldn't help it. And why couldn't she just tell us immediately what she was thinking, so as to get things faster?

"Can you just tell me what you're - "

"_Gods, _Piper!" she exclaimed. "Just. . .just let me_ think _first." This time her hands flew to the books in front of her, pulling and pushing and setting them aside. The books flipped past before us at an inexplicable rate.

"What are you even looking for!" I yelled.

Reyna took a deep breath, organizing herself. "Games. You mentioned games. What did you guys play?"

"Uh." I couldn't think straight. Something about her frantic look made my heart pound. "I can't. . ." I furrowed my brows. "I. . .Truth or Dare. Yes, we played Truth or Dare."

Everything stopped.

The books being moved away, the beating of my heart, Reyna, everything.

I couldn't see her face properly in the dimness of the library. "What did you people ask him to do?"

The voice that came out was measured, but nonetheless haunted. It was strained and cautious; the kind of tone that was _always_ used in films - the part where the victim would realize that the person she was with and who was currently helping her was actually the suspect. It was the kind of tone that made Leo look surprised for the very first time since we'd been on the boat.

For some stupid and irrational reason, I blushed. "N-nothing. Nothing personal, I mean. The guys just ordered him to tell me something. 'I love you'." My cheeks felt warmer. "That kind of stupid stuff."

I wasn't sure, but something in Reyna's face softened. "Are you sure that's it?"

I nodded. I shifted slightly to look at Leo. He was smirking.

"Oh, shut up," I grumbled.

"I didn't think you were the gooey type." Leo was thoroughly amused. I motioned to strangle him. His mouth twitched.

I thought we were going to search again for books, but Reyna slumped on the floor and sat down below one of the candelabras. Confused, I sat down, too. Leo resigned to merely leaning on a shelf.

There was silence. The only sounds were our breathing as well as the fires flickering.

"Theories?" I asked.

Reyna bit her lip. It was evident she was having some kind of inner struggle. "It's risky."

"What's risky?"

Her dark eyes landed on her hands, which were positioned on top of her lap. "The theory itself."

"How risky?" I was tired of all these riddles.

It took her eons to reply. "We need to leave tonight. That much is - "

"Do we have a deadline?" I asked. "What's going to happen once we escape? What _is _happening?" My voice was shaking. "We. . .we - we don't even know what we're dealing with. Does Jason have some kind of nemesis that decided to kidnap him? If not, why did he leave?"

"You're asking these questions to the wrong person." Reyna shook her head.

I had had it. "I was stupid to bring you along with me, then," I said tightly. "Just tell me your idea - "

"I can't. I'm sorry." And she _was_ sorry. It was in her eyes.

"This - " My throat was thick and hotness was spreading through my chest. "We don't even know where to start."

Reyna sat up. She started muttering, "If _I _can't tell you, then_ someone_ else can."

Leo was horrified. "Woman, what the hell are you - "

"I'm not crazy," she shot back. "I have an idea."

"Oh? And will you tell us this one?"

She nodded. "We can look for Themis."

I raised an eyebrow. "Themis?"

"Goddess of divine law." Leo stood straighter. He looked dead serious. "She. . .I mean, where can we find her?"

There was a ghost of a smile as Reyna said, "Well, where else? She's Lady Justice."

New York.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm super sorry if it's short :(( I promise to make the next one longer! It's just that you guys wanted a chapter _so _bad that I was like, "Oh, hell, Ima write now" despite the fact that I'm busy at this moment. :(**

**Anyway, I hope you like this one! Tell me what you think of it!**

**THANK YOU FOR STICKING UP WITH THIS STORY! I LOVE YA'LL TO DEATH!**


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